Students in rural school get improved WASH facilities
Clean water and safe toilets for more than 200 students
Lae, Morobe Province, 1 September 2023 - More than 200 school children attending a rural primary school in Nawaeb District, Morobe Province can now enjoy access to improved water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities. Wesan Primary School was established in 2019 and enrolled students for the first time in 2020 in three classes. Over the past two and a half years, school enrolment increased to seven classes and so did the need for clean water and safe toilets.
Through a generous funding contribution from the Government of Japan facilitated by UNICEF, the school received six new gender segregated toilets, handwashing facilities, two water storage tanks and an incinerator for menstrual hygiene management and safe waste disposal. These facilities were launched by the Japan Ambassador to PNG, His Excellency Nobuyuki Watanabe when he visited the school recently.
"Japan and UNICEF have worked together to promote hygiene and sanitation in some schools, health centers and communities. Utilizing funds from Japan, UNICEF has built water facilities in nine communities in Nawaeb District."
Almost half of the schools in PNG lack access to safe drinking water, to safe sanitation, or to handwashing facilities with soap. This has a negative impact on children’s learning, especially girls who miss school where no safe and dignified menstrual health and hygiene facilities exist.
“Safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene are very important to humans’, especially children’s health and well-being. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are critical to personal health, to improved livelihoods, uninterrupted school attendance and help to create strong communities living in healthy environments.”
The Wesan school community is one of nine communities in Nawaeb District benefitting from improved WASH interventions that the Government of Japan has supported through a partnership with UNICEF and the Nawaeb District Authority.
