In India, 50 mn children lack sanitation in schools

New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- Nearly a fifth of the children with no access to sanitation services in schools are in India, the highest for any country in the world, according to the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report.

India has 50 million of the world's 244 million children who did not have sanitation services in schools in 2025, the report "Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools 2015-2025" noted.

The report also added that India recorded a 14 per cent reduction in the number of schools with no sanitation service during the period assessed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s joint monitoring programme produces internationally comparable estimates of progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and is responsible for global monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to WASH.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes global goals for water and sanitation and for education. Goal 4 aims to ensure "inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning" and includes targets to build and upgrade education facilities that are child-, disability- and gender-sensitive and provide safe and effective learning environments for all.

This includes providing all schools with access to electricity, computers, the internet, adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities, and basic WASH services.

Goal 6 aims to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" and includes targets for universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

"In 2025, despite progress, 244 million children still had no sanitation service at their school," the report said.

India accounted for 50 million of them, Nigeria 34 million, Ethiopia 26 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 11 million and Indonesia 8 million, the report said.

For the purposes of SDG monitoring, a basic drinking water service means schools have access to a functioning improved water source. A basic sanitation service means schools have improved sanitation facilities that are single-sex and usable, and a basic hygiene service means schools have handwashing facilities with soap and water available at the time of the survey.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.