Training in firefighting
Members of firefighter school attend a training session in Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal. REUTERS LONDON: A lack of proper school toilets threatens the health, education and safety of at least 620 million children around the world, the charity Wateraid said in a new study published on Friday.
Children at one in three schools lack access to proper toilets, putting them at risk of diarrhea and other infections and forcing some to miss lessons altogether, according to the study, based on data from 101 countries. But some regions have started to clean up their act — notably South Asia, where access to toilets in schools has improved.
More than half the schools in Bangladesh now have access to decent toilets, while students in 73 percent of schools in India can access basic sanitation. Akramul Islam, director of water, sanitation and hygiene at the Bangladeshi charity BRAC, said the country’s once-high levels of open defecation were now below one percent.
“Today, schools have separate toilets for girls and boys and the issue of menstrual hygiene is also being addressed,” he said. “This has happened because of initiatives taken by both the gover nment, the NGOS and other stakeholders.” Despite the improvements, more than a third of the girls in South Asia miss school on between one to three days a month during their period, Wateraid said.