Children Advocate for Better Sanitation in Earthquake-Affected Pakistan
By Sandra Bisin “Today, we’ve learnt how to use the latrines properly and also how to cover up food so it doesn’t get dirty and flies do not spoil it as they carry diseases”, says a student. Two years after the disaster, which killed over 73,000 people, and as the situation is gradually returning to normal, poor sanitation and hygiene are still a threat to children’s right to education as well as health. Children are prone to miss class because of water-borne and sanitation-related illnesses such as diarrhoea. In May 2006, UNICEF teamed up with Education authorities in the North West Frontier Province, in the north of Pakistan, and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to launch a teacher training program on school sanitation and child to child hygiene promotion in areas affected by the earthquake. So far, over 4,000 teachers have been trained. UNICEF has moved from emergency assistance to recovery and reconstruction by trying innovative approaches in hygiene promotion. The child to child approach spans across six earthquake-affected districts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province. The approach uses children to teach their peers about good hygiene practices. “I did a two-day training on hygiene promotion last November (2006)”, says Musarrat Awan, the 25 year-old teacher at Said Bata school. “I was trained on hygiene and health, use of latrines, hand-washing, how to keep the food safe by cleaning and boiling it, how to keep the environment clean. When I returned to school, I taught all these topics to children and encouraged them to sensitize their friends, siblings and parents by taking their knowledge home with them.” “Our ultimate objective is that all teachers in earthquake-affected areas be trained on child to child hygiene promotion by the end of 2008”, explains Victor Kinyanjui, Water, Environment and Sanitation specialist at the UNICEF office in Muzaffarabad. “With the child to child approach we use children as entry points to communities. We insist on three key messages: use latrines, wash your hands after using latrines and wash your hands before eating.”
In addition to the training of teachers, UNICEF has distributed one hygiene resource kit in each school. Each kit is composed of child to child manuals for teachers, exercise books, posters and flip cards on issues such as hand washing, proper use of latrines and safe handling of water. All materials are in the Urdu language. “Behavior change is a long process”, stresses Andrew Parker, a UNICEF Water, Environment and Sanitation officer for the Emergency Programme. “Through this approach our aim is that girls and boys be equally supported to become active role models and advocates of good hygienic practices”. “Behavior change is a long process”, stresses Andrew Parker, a UNICEF Water, Environment and Sanitation officer for the Emergency Programme. “Through this approach our aim is that girls and boys be equally supported to become active role models and advocates of good hygienic practices”. UNICEF’s major donor for Water, Environment and Sanitation activities in earthquake-affected areas in Pakistan are Spain and the Netherlands.
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