A case study from Kenya of using research to influence national-scale change related to the government of Kenya’s funding allocations to and implementation of school water, sanitation and hygiene.

As part of the SWASH+ project, the Great Lakes University of Kisumu and Emory University collected baseline data on safe water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in divisions in four districts in Nyanza Province, Kenya. The information was gathered between January and March of 2008 on over 10,000 children in almost 5,000 households.

The 2007 SWASH+ Baseline report includes results from a 2007 baseline survey conducted in 185 schools around school enrollment and water and sanitation infrastructure for the SWASH+ Project in Nyanza Province, Kenya.  This report includes facility (school)-, pupil- and community (household)-level data.

Findings concerning the importance of safe water, sanitation and hygiene for school and community health

In September to November 2008, Emory University and Great Lakes University of Kisumu conducted an assessment in SWASH+ project schools in Nyanza Province, Kenya to determine the impact of school WASH interventions on pupil knowledge, behaviors, health and absenteeism. The findings of the pupil final evaluation suggest that all intervention groups are making improvements in the regular availability of appropriate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and that children’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors are improving as well. At the same time, there is little evidence that these have resulted in attributable improvements in health or attendance so far.

A comparison of facilitaties from baseline to end of year two.

This report details the infrastructure, logistics and socio-cultural factors of girls’ urinals.  The report concludes with recommendations on several levels including programmatic, community, teacher/school staff, family, and student.

A SWASH+ review of 5 schools in Bondo District, Kenya that had received funds for infrastructure improvement from the Kenyan Government and another 3 where Water.org had installed the government-approved latrine.

During a meeting held in mid October 2008 between WPI and Emory regarding selecting and finalizing SWASH+ sanitation innovations to be built and studied in the upcoming months, the topic of washrooms as a potential innovation was visited. 

An evaluation by Emory's Center for Global Safe Water of a 2005 pilot of safe water systems in 55 schools in Kenya.

Highlights monitoring as a path to accountability, SWASH funding, mechanisms of behavior change, and the importance of maintenance.

There has been increased attention to access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) at schools in developing countries, but a dearth of empirical studies on the impact. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial of school-based WASH on pupil absence in Nyanza Province, Kenya, from 2007 to 2008.

SWASH+ Central America Newsletter - February 2009 Spanish

SWASH+ Central America Newsletter - August 2008 Spanish

A tri-fold brochure detailing the origins and goals of SWASH+ in Kenya, as well as key areas of research, contact information and partner organizations.

An updated list of the most important findings from SWASH+ research.

This document outlines the approach used by SWASH+ to select appropriate intervention schools in environments where the need outweighs the available resources.

A poster of the recent Kenya School Health Policy

On October 26, government and NGO staff in Kenya made announced and surprised visits to schools that were part of a pilot of a direct funding model being implemented by the government of Kenya. This presentation provides some lessons learned.

Emory University conducted three focus group discussions on Menstrual Management in Schools.

A summary of a report focusing on identifying challenges schools face in maintaining their rainwater harvesting systems.

In 2005, CARE implemented the Safe Water System in 60 schools in rural Nyanza province. An evaluation was conducted in 2006 to estimate benefits and determine whether the intervention was still in place (O’Reilly et al, 2007). That evaluation identified several potential threats to sustainability including: movement of teachers, availability of inputs and affordability of water treatment and soap.