Sustainable sanitation for schools

Sustainable sanitation systems in schools include both hardware (facilities) and software (sensitisation, monitoring, training and advocacy) components. Toilet options may be selected from a wide range of simple to more complex technologies. Sustainable sanitation is defined as promoting and improving health and hygiene, protecting environmental and natural resources, and being technologically and operationally appropriate, financially and economically viable and socioculturally and institutionally acceptable. Sustainable sanitation solutions must be implemented against the backdrop that “acceptable levels of safe water, sanitation and hygiene are not met in many schools worldwide”. In developing countries two-thirds of schools do not have sanitation facilities. Also many countries in transition, for example in Central and Eastern Europe, have low coverage of access to safe water and sanitation in schools. Even many schools in industrialised countries have challenges of hygienic use and maintenance of their toilet facilities. Schools, the very places to educate children and provide a healthy environment, are unable to fulfil these obligations mostly due to the lack of political motivation and attention for sanitation and hygiene. [authors abstract]