UNB, Dhaka :
School attendance, school grades, and child cognitive development could be improved with a longer term consequences through preventing disease transmission in schools, according to a recent government study.
The study shows that schools are venues for rapid dissemination of infectious diseases and places of learning where good habits can be inculcated. Hand-washing with soap has proven effective in reducing diarrhea and respiratory disease in these settings.
icddr,b in association with the Policy Support Unit of the Local Government Division conducted the ‘Bangladesh National Hygiene Baseline Survey’ released in June 2014. WaterAid Bangladesh provided financial assistance and Stanford University gave technical cooperation in conducting the survey.
The study was undertaken to assess hygiene practices among adolescents and surveyed a total of 100 rural and urban areas (both schools and household settings) across the country.
The survey reveals that a hand-washing location with both water and soap was found in 35 percent of schools where around one-third of students’ hands appeared to be clean and 28 percent washed both hands with soap during hand-washing demonstration.
Identifying the limited toilet access of students, the study says overall there were 187 students per toilet, in contrast to the government standard of having one toilet per 50 students. The majority of schools (84%) had a functional improved toilet for students. However, in only 45 percent of schools these were found unlocked.
About one-third of all schools had water and soap available inside or near the improved toilet accessed by students and a quarter of toilets were clean.
Menstrual hygiene management remains a serious challenge in Bangladesh, especially among school-age girls. The study found that about 40 percent of girls do not go to school for an average three days per month during the time of their menstruation and 89 percent of students stored their menstrual cloth in a hidden place for repeated use without washing or drying them in a hygienic manner.
The study suggests launching a hygiene campaign to address hand-washing, menstrual hygiene management and food safety so that sensible convenient practices reduce disease transmission to increase comfort and enhance educational attainment could be promoted.
