School sanitation and hygiene education in Latin America : summary report of a workshop on problems and options for improvement, Cali, Colombia, 22-27 March 1993

Report of the workshop for which case studies were conducted in each country to provide background information on the regional situation. Although the findings are not necessarily representative of Latin America as a whole, a set of common problems were identified: insufficient access to safe water supply (especially in rural areas); inappropriate design of facilities for children; poor operation and maintenance of both water supply and excreta disposal facilities; poor solid waste collection and drainage; lack of practical training of students in hygiene education; insufficient teacher training and educational materials for hygiene education; and lack of community involvement in making school improvements. On the other hand, teachers and school principals place importance on school sanitation and children are aware of good hygiene practices. Some schools and country programmes offer positive examples of how improvements can be made. The workshop recommended raising awareness of the need to improve the school environment, enhancing collaboration between concerned government ministries, and further training of teachers and other school staff. Continued research on this topic is needed in each country, and more information support will be required to make improvements. Participants created country work plans which they will seek to implement following the workshop.

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