NAIROBI, Kenya (December 14, 2006) - In partnership with the government of Kenya, CARE is launching a new program that will improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for school children. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Water Challenge, the program, known as SWASH+ (Sustaining and Scaling School Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Plus Community Impact), will identify, develop and test innovative school-based water, sanitation and hygiene projects in Kenya's Nyanza Province. Over five years, SWASH+ will reach at least 300 schools (including 90,000 students in the first three years) and will provide valuable information on the costs and benefits of school water, sanitation and hygiene.
The global problem of access to safe water and sanitation is staggering. More than 1 billion people lack access to improved water sources, and more than 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation. In Kenya's Nyanza Province, even under the most optimistic scenario, more than 3,700 primary schools require improvements in safe water and hygiene facilities, and more than 35,000 school latrines are required throughout the province to meet government recommended standards.
In the first three years of the SWASH+ program, teachers will learn how to treat their school water supply with chlorine solution and hand washing stations will be installed. Sanitation will be improved in 180 schools. Teachers will also establish school health clubs and teach students appropriate hygiene techniques. Additionally, community members will participate in developing new water points in 60 communities where there is no water supply in the school. From the third year, consortium partners will support the government of Kenya to scale up the adoption of best practices in Nyanza Province.
The program will determine whether school-based projects can provide a platform for increasing permanent access to these services. If these techniques are proven effective at the provincial level, they will provide the framework for national implementation.
A consortium made up of CARE, Water Partners International and their local partner SANA, the Millennium Water Alliance, the Center for Global Safe Water at Emory University, and the Global Water Challenge will implement an applied research study and government-led scale-up over the next five years.
SWASH+ was developed from a pilot initiative funded by Coca-Cola East and Central Africa Ltd. The initiative began in 2005, when the Millennium Water Alliance, CARE, Water Partners International and Kisumu-based SANA implemented a school- and community-based water, sanitation and hygiene education project. In January 2006, a working group of partners from the pilot initiative, potential donors, key government ministries, UNICEF, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program and international and Kenya-based NGOs met in Kisumu to discuss lessons learned from this pilot initiative. The meeting also focused on determining next steps in broadening the project. During the November 8 meeting, representatives of the Kenyan ministries of education, water and health committed themselves to active participation in scaling up the program to a provincial level and helping to identify methods that could be used to implement it nationally.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to join the Global Water Challenge in awarding this grant to the consortium led by CARE as a way to learn whether school-based water, sanitation and hygiene programs can be an effective, sustainable and scalable approach to enhancing access to safe water and sanitation.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and to technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on improving the lives of low-income families. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chairs William H. Gates Sr., Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. For more information, please visit www.gatesfoundation.org.
The Global Water Challenge
The GWC is an initiative to save lives and reduce suffering in the developing world by providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education to people who lack these basic services. Launched by a diverse coalition of corporations, foundations, and aid organizations, the GWC is a unique partnership to build healthy communities and provide sustainable solutions to ensure the availability of potable water. The GWC's goal is to bring safe water and sanitation to millions by identifying and multiplying the solutions that work. The GWC is an initiative of the United Nations Foundation, and its sister agency, the Better World Fund, a U.S. public charity. For more information, please visit www.globalwaterchallenge.org.
Additional information about the partners can be found on their websites:
