School and anaemia prevention: current reality and opportunities--a Tanzanian case study

Abstract

Iron deficiency anaemia is highly endemic in rural areas of Tanzania and in many developing countries. Its prevention among school children requires greater dissemination of knowledge of anaemia among children, teachers, parents and the general community. Associated improvements in the hygienic status of domestic and school environments are also often required. One-hundred-and-thirty-one anaemic children, 90 parents and 76 teachers were interviewed to ascertain their understanding of anaemia. Most children and parents had little knowledge of the symptoms, causes and prevention of anaemia. In addition to their iron-deficient diets, more than half of the children went to school without something to eat at breakfast and during school hours. However, parents and teachers were willing to work together to provide meals for the children. Poor sanitation in the children's homes and in schools was a little recognized factor which could pose a serious risk of anaemia. In addition, inadequate sanitation facilities and poor quality of physical environment prevailed both in the children's homes and in schools. The findings suggest the need for the establishment of a health-promoting schools network to provide a comprehensive framework for health promotion in schools as well as in homes in Tanzania and in other developing countries. Schools can be an ideal setting to positively influence a community's health status. Partnerships among teachers, parents and the wider community are required to identify, prioritize and ameliorate health problems.

Prevalence of anemia and its determinants in urban school-going children of Mumbai

“…The reason may be poor awareness about anemia (2.9%) regarding its causes, prevention and treatment as observed in our study. Poor awareness regarding anemia was also noted by Mwanri [17] in their study on school children. Surprisingly, only 75% of students were willing to consume WIFAS for a year.…”

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…With respect to problems with the infrastructure, sewage management and disposal was reported as inadequate in 8% of studies (n = 5), including full toilets and latrines with no subsequent measures taken [ 44 , 57 ], evidence of open drainage and stagnant pools around the school premises [ 61 , 76 ] and blockage of the sewage line [ 70 ]. Facilities were also damaged, cracked, broken or had collapsed completely [ 68 , 95 , 99 ], had poor infrastructure, such as no cement floor, or were built only for temporary use [ 85 ], needed repair [ 62 ] and put the safety of the learners at risk [ 87 ]. There were also reported cases of vandalism [ 52 , 62 , 98 ], offensive statements on the walls of toilets [ 70 ] and in one school in the district of Katakwi (Uganda) some of the latrines had been destroyed by animals [ 89 ].…”

Water and Sanitation in Schools: A Systematic Review of the Health and Educational Outcomes

“…Six studies met the pre-defined search criteria for sanitation [32,33,34,35,36,37]. Five of the studies were conducted in a developed nation [32,33,34,36,37] and one in a developing [35]; all six document inadequacies in sanitation provision and the benefits of provision in schools.…”

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