Water, sanitation and hygiene in Moroccan primary schools
Zagora is the largest province of the Souss Massa Drâa region.
2,700 people. Of these, 17,715 are children aged under 15.
April 2014 – December 2016
Zagora is a province of the Souss Massa Drâa region. Its 285,000 inhabitants mostly live in a rural environment full of contrasts (mountains and desert plateaus) with an economy based on agriculture and with few water and sanitation facilities, a lack of awareness/education about water, sanitation and hygiene in schools, and very limited access for children with disabilities. All this contributes to the increase in water-related diseases.
To improve the water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and to contribute to creating a safe environment in the 19 primary schools established as targets: 4 schools in Ait Ouallal, 5 in Agdz and 10 in Tamezmoute. And to raise awareness of the best water, sanitation and hygiene practices among students, schools and the communities of the municipalities.
Like most rural schools in Morocco, the primary schools in the Ait Ouallal, Agdz and Tamezmoute district suffer from a lack of basic infrastructures and the right measures to meet children's needs in terms of water, sanitation and hygiene.
There is a clear need for full external support for the WinS (Water, sanitation and hygiene in schools) programme covering the supply of equipment, the maintenance service and the consequent changes in hygiene-related behaviour.
It is important to direct specific actions towards the municipalities to ensure the flow of information between school and community involving national decision-making bodies; children in the schools as agents for dynamic change; teachers, and the community, because of their great potential to ensure the promotion of water, sanitation and hygiene services.
This project provides healthy water, improves sanitary facilities and promotes lifelong health, leading to a dramatic reduction in diseases caused by the lack of adequate hygiene habits and the consumption of polluted water. In this way, it also encourages children to remain in school and to succeed there.
The separation of latrines by sexes helps encourage boys and girls to use them rather than polluting the school site or its resources and water sources.
The pupils from the project's 19 schools are very important in carrying it out as, firstly, they participate in the decisions made, giving advice on drawing up communication supports on hygiene habits and on school government mechanisms themselves. Secondly, they also take part in monitoring and assessing the project activities, as well as proper management of the infrastructures created.