Assessment of access to water, sanitation and hygiene in rural schools of Central Kazakhstan

Abstract

Background The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for universal coverage and access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for all by 2030. Access to WASH in schools is one of the priority areas, considering Joint Monitoring Program is lacking the data from many developing countries, particularly, rural areas including Kazakhstan. The aim of the paper is to assess the access to WASH at schools in rural regions of central Kazakhstan. Methods The study was conducted in three rural schools using focus group discussion with school heads, the observation of drinking water and sanitation units, and a questionnaire survey among 166 pupils. All tools cover the set of questions about the availability and the privacy of WASH facilities, accessibility, acceptability to pupils, functionality. Results Results of the study show that the main water source of Algabas and Kerney schools is a centralized piped water supply provided into the school building and 85,91% of pupils from these schools report the uninterrupted availability of water from this source. However, Sartau has its well, and only 51,72% of pupils from this school indicate that water from the main source is continuously available. All toilets are flushing toilets inside of schools and not connected to the centralized sewage system. The maximum number of the toilet is 6 in the Kerney school; however, this amount of toilets is not enough for the number of pupils by the national norms. Majority of pupils (89,15%) report that the school toilets are always available. Nevertheless, 34,87% of pupils indicate no toilet paper as a reason for not using the school toilet. Handwashing facilities are located near the toilets and in classrooms. Only 53,02% have soap available and 42,77% have access to hand drying facilities after handwashing. Conclusions The current study shows rural schools of Central Kazakhstan are not provided with sufficient materials for pupils to manage personal hygiene appropriately. Key messages The study is essential for mapping the situation of WASH in schools. This study provides the baseline data for JMP; consequently, it is crucial to plan the UN SDGs in Kazakhstan.

Assessing Access to WASH in Urban Schools during COVID-19 in Kazakhstan: Case Study of Central Kazakhstan

“…We present the results of the study on assessing access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in schools of Central Kazakhstan in order to draw due attention to this issue, since the lack of official data on Kazakhstan in the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program on WASH (JMP) is a significant problem. The research focused on studying the context with access to water, sanitation and hygiene in schools in the urban area, continuing the work of studying schools in rural areas [ 21 , 25 ], thereby expanding our database for the entire conjuncture in the region. By conducting this study during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to show not just the impact of WASH on different aspects of life, such as health and education, but to direct people to understand the significance of development of a systematic approach to water, sanitation and hygiene by clarifying the actual examples [ 26 ].…”