Swachhta Action plan for pre-schools & schools during Covid-19

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Webinar 10

Swachhta Action plan for pre-schools & schools during Covid-19

With the end of 2020 coming near, India slides into the last decade for meeting her SDGs 2030. With the coronavirus pandemic, bringing change at the grassroots level will be tougher than ever. To support Swachh Bharat Diwas 2020, SHARP NGO organised a webinar on WASH education in pre-schooling and Anganwadis. School Health Curriculum needs to build upon WASH education from an early age to see a healthy adolescent. This webinar cum panel discussion highlighted:

WASH in AWC, Pre-school Education WASH in School Health Curriculum Promoting hand washing with soap among school community WASH for vulnerable communities The last decade for India for meeting SDG 2030

The audience will be given an opportunity to interact with the eminent panel which included:

MS. URVASHI PRASAD Public Policy Specialist, NITI AAYOG, Govt. of India

MR. RAM CHANDRA SINGH Consultant, WASH in Institutions, MS. SOVANIKA PAL -

UNICEF India Principal, Vidya Bharti School, Delhi

MS. MEETA JARUHAR Regional Program Manager (East), WASH, Plan India

KEY TAKEAWAYS

WASH IN SCHOOLS AND AWC • There are many software aspects of WASH that need to be taken care of at the school level. Adequate training must be carried out for educators, students and parents. E.g: imparting age appropriate knowledge. • Preschoolers and young students need to be taught how to wash their hands in a scientific manner. • Schools must also stay in touch with health agencies to manage the cases in schools. • Basic sanitation processes need to be carried out quickly in the Anganwadi centres.

AVAILABILITY WASH FACILITIES • Adequate hardware facilities need to be ensured. Local solutions must be sought for the same. • Earlier WASH facilities included drinking water, sanitation units such as toilets and urinals, hand washing facilities, solid and liquid waste, food safety and hygiene, operation and maintenance and hygiene and health education. With the spread of the coronavirus there have been additions to the list of essentials; we now, also need masks, have to maintain a physical distance, maintain respiratory hygiene, disinfect and clean our environment and require SOPs for specific case management. • It needs to be ensured that the WASH facilities are also differently abled friendly. • The focus needs to shift from construction to maintenance and functionality of WASH facilities.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

INTRODUCING BEHAVIORAL CHANGES TOWARDS WASH • To inculcate hand washing practices in children, they could be told all the key occasions/activities that require washing hands. • The four pillars of behavioural change are: awareness, commitment, reinforcing the practices and such behavioural changes and rewards. • Not only the availability of sanitary products but also the behavioural changes towards MHM must be addressed. • We do not only need to make sure that adequate water is available for different purposes but also consider water conservation. • Segregation of household waste should be brought in light while continuously monitoring the previous achievements and other WASH program. • New-environment friendly and user friendly sanitary products need to be manufactured • Washing hands with soap and water or using hand sanitiser should be preferred over wearing gloves, as they may lead to surface contamination.

ROLES OF PARENTS • Parents should inculcate the habit of wearing masks in children so that they get used to wearing mask for long hours.

CSR INTERVENTION • Ensuring proper WASH facilities requires long term planning and private-public partnerships. • WASH hasn’t received enough attention in schools also because it is a vast topic that does not have clear sub-heads or specific programs, these programs can successfully be run through collaborations and convergence schemes.

SURVEY FINDINGS

Approximately 47% of the population feels vulnerable communities did not receive enough focus in media during the sanitation & COVID impact discussion. 77.7% people think WASH in Anganwadis and Pre-school has been missed out all these years. Only 35.7 % believes that India has achieved her goals of Clean India Mission.

Close to 80% of the population opines that India is on the right path to achieve her SDGs by 2030.