1

Wash Booklet for seniors

Topics Covered.

1. Facts on WASH

2. The F-diagram

3. Safe water sources

4 HWT technologies

5. Solid waste management

6. Menstrual management

7. The MDGs

8. Zimbabwe towards the MDGs

2

Facts on WASH

………………………………….Zimbabwe

………………………………………Africa

…………………………………… Globally

3

o People deprived of improved sanitation services in 2004

Rural – 5.9 million

Urban – 0.4 million (derived form CSO, 2002; NCU 2007)

o Expected Zimbabwe population in 2015 – 13 million (C.S.O., 2002)

o People without improved sanitation if the MDG 2015 is achieved – 4.8 million (NCU,

2007)

o Number of people that need to gain access to improved sanitation in the decade before

2015 to meet the MDG = 1. 5 million (Derived from NCU, 2007)

o Proportion of people without a basic toilet in 2005-2006 – 2 in 5 (DHS)

o Access to sanitation linked to a sewage system: Zimbabwe, 17% (Derived from, CSO,

2002)

o Under five child mortality due to diseases (diarrhoea included), for urban areas 64

deaths per 1000 births and 72 deaths per 1000 births in rural areas. (DHS, 2005/6).

o Prevalence of diarrhoea in below fives with improved toilet facility (1.7 million

children) and with non improved toilet facility (3, 2 million children). (DHS, 2005/6).

o Percent up to which washing hands at critical times with soap can reduce the number

of diarrhoeal cases - 47% (Curtis V. And S. Cairncross, Lancet 2003)

o Urban to rural ratio of people with access to water sources -98% (urban) vs. 68%

(rural) (NCU, 2007

o Urban to rural ratio of people with access to improved sanitation – 91%(urban)

vs.25%(rural)(NCU,2007

o Urban to rural ratio of people with access to water sources -98% (urban) vs. 68%

(rural) (NCU, 2007

Facts on WASH …………………………..Zimbabwe

4

o In Sub-Saharan Africa, treating diarrhoea consumes 12 percent of the health budget.

On a typical day, more than half the hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering

from faecal-related disease

o Lack of safe water and sanitation costs sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) each year. (UNDP

Facts on WASH.

……………………………………Africa

5

o In Sub-Saharan Africa, treating diarrhoea consumes 12 percent of the health budget.

On a typical day, more than half the hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering

from faecal-related disease

o Lack of safe water and sanitation costs sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) each year. (UNDP

o 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one

in eight of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)

o 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is

almost two fifths of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)

o 1.4 million children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor

sanitation - 4,000 child deaths a day or one child every 20 seconds. This equates to

160 infant school classrooms lost every single day to an entirely preventable public

health crisis. (WHO/WaterAid)

o One gram of human faeces can contain 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000

parasite cysts, 100 parasite eggs. (UNICEF)

o Diarrhoea kills more children every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

(WHO)

o 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases.

o 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available. (UK DFID)

o Households in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water,

and it is generally women who are burdened with the task. (UK DFID)

o

Facts on WASH.

…………………………………… Globally

6

The F-diagram

The F-Diagram is a cycle characterized by F’s as follows:

Fluids-the drinking of contaminated water

Fields-the contamination of soil, crops, fruits etc by human excreta

Fingers-faecal contamination of fingers/hands

Food-eating food contaminated with faecal matter

Flies-which spread diseases from feces to water and food.

In addition to the above, the F-Diagram shows how diarrheal diseases are

transmitted, controlled and prevented, for example, pathogens from faeces

can contaminate the fingers and the fingers will then be used to eat food

thus eventually the pathogens will get into the body and cause diseases. But

this whole route can be prevented. Can you guess how? Washing ones’

hands i.e. good hygiene practices.

7

How to wash your hands effectively!

Before applying any soap, wet your hands thoroughly with warm

running water.

Apply soap or ash

Use the below six stages to decontaminate all areas of your hands.

Rinse hands thoroughly with clean running water.

1. Palm to palm.

2. Palm to palm with fingers interlaced.

3. Palm to back with fingers interlaced.

4. Fingers clasped.

5. Rotational rubbing of both thumbs.

6. Tips of fingers in opposite palm

8

The deadly diarrheal diseases!!

Cholera Dysentery Typhoid Fever

Basic Facts The cholera outbreak

that occurred between

August 2008 and July

2010 resulted in

98592 cases and 4288

deaths.

Common in

Developing countries.

Common in developing

countries.

Causes It is caused by a

bacteria known as the

Vibrio cholerae Its transmission is by

the feacal-oral route.

There are two types

of Amoebic

dysentery which is

common in equatorial

regions and Bacterial

dysentery which is

also known as

Shigella dysentery.

Shigella dysentery is

caused by Shigella

.and is common in

Zimbabwe.

It is caused by bacteria

called salmonella typhi.

The bacteria thrive in

human, and are expelled

from the human body

mainly through stool and

urine. You get typhoid

by eating or drinking

food or water that is

contaminated by with

human body waste.

Symptoms profuse watery

diarrhea without

fever or abdominal

cramps

Rice water stool

Vomiting which can

be severe, and painful

leg cramps

Mild to severe

diarrhea, often

containing blood

and/or mucous,

Stomach cramps and

Fever

Typhoid usually causes a

high, sustained fever,

often as high as 40°C

(104°F), and extreme

exhaustion, constipation

,cough headache, loss of

appetite ,stomach pains

,sore throat bleeding

from the rectum

,diarrhea

Treatment ORS

Antibiotics given to

severe cases

ORS

Antibiotics

Antibiotics

vaccine

Prevention Adequate potable

water supplies,

Sanitation and

Good personal

hygiene

Adequate potable

water supplies,

Sanitation and

Good personal

hygiene

Observe basic sanitary

and hygiene measures

9

Safe water Sources

Although some 70% of the Earth's

surface is covered by water much of

this is saline.

However freshwater is available in

almost all populated areas of the earth

although it may be expensive to access

the water and the supply may not

always be sustainable. Sources where

water may be obtained include:

Ground sources such as groundwater and aquifers.

Precipitation which includes rain, hail, snow, fog, etc.

surface water such as rivers,

streams,

Biological sources such as plants.

the sea through desalination

Uses of water include agricultural,

industrial, household, recreational and

10

environmental activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh

water. However, only 3% is fresh water of which slightly over two thirds is

frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Hence you and I must conserve water!

Most schools in the urban areas across the world have running water from

their taps. The water is usually treated thus safe to use and drink. However,

in most developing countries especially in the rural areas water supply in

schools is in form of boreholes, protected wells, unprotected shallow wells,

tanks with rain harvested water, rivers, springs and dams.

While water from boreholes, protected wells and springs is usually safe for

drinking the rest of the sources mentioned above provide water that needs

treatment to make it safe.

Remember drinking clean and safe water

saves your life!!!!

11

School water treatment

Not having a safe water source is not an excuse to drink dirty water. If water

can be treated at home using technologies such as bio-sand filters, water can

also be treated at school in order to allow every school child to have access

to clean drinking water. Three low cost technologies can be adapted

depending with the school i.e. chlorination, solar disinfection and bio-sand

filters.

1. Chlorination

This is where water is treated at the point of use. Chlorine solutions like Water

Guard, aquatabs or sachets like Oasis. The user follows instruction written on the

product.

Benefits

o residual protection against contamination

o ease of use

o low cost

o can treat large amounts of water

Draw backs

o potential user taste and odor objections

o kills mostly bacterial pathogens, viruses usually survive treatment

o affected by turbidity

12

2. Solar Disinfection- SODIS

SODIS is a solar

water disinfection

method which uses

the sunlight and its

UVA-Radiation and

the heat it creates to

make the water safe.

So how do you use

this technology?

What to do?

You just take a transparent PET plastic bottle of a volume up to 3 liters.

You can not use colored bottles,

damaged bottles, heavily scratched

bottles and PVC bottles.

You should store the water in the

bottles otherwise it can get contaminated again by dirty hands or dirty

glasses. The water should be drunk directly from the bottles or from a clean

glass. If the weather is really cloudy the bottles should be exposed for two

consecutive days.

Advantages of SODIS compared to common treatment methods:

13

o SODIS saves your time, less

work than boiling water.

o SODIS does not change the

taste of water unlike chemical

products.

o SODIS saves your money –

once you are using SODIS

consistently and correctly you will not need to spent money on diarrhoeal

medication and fuel.

o You can use your SODIS-bottle for storing your drinking water.

o The re-use of plastic bottles keeps your environment clean.

Limitations of SODIS

o SODIS does not

change the

chemical water

quality

o SODIS requires

relatively clear

water and

suitable weather

conditions

o Limited volume

of water that can be treated at once

o Length of time required to treat water is long

14

3. Biosand filters

The biosand filter has five distinct zones:

1) Inlet reservoir zone,

2) standing water zone

3) Biological zone,

4) non-biological zone, and

5) gravel zone.

Pathogens and suspended solids

are removed through a

combination of biological and

physical processes that take place

in the Bio-layer and within the

sand layer. These processes

include the following:

o Mechanical trapping. Suspended solids and pathogens are physically

trapped in the spaces between the sand grains.

o Predation. Pathogens are consumed by other microorganisms in the

biolayer.

o Absorption. Pathogens become attached to each other, suspended solids

in the water and the sand grains

o Natural death. Pathogens finish their life cycle or die because there is

not enough food or oxygen for them to survive.

Benefits

o Can be used over and over again for a long time

15

o Materials to make it are locally available

o Easy to maintain if properly installed

Draw Backs

o Prone to recontamination. There is no residual protection.

o If water is too turbid the filter is less efficient

Solid Waste Management in Schools

What is Solid Waste?

Solid waste refers to garbage, refuse,

sludge or other waste matter of a solid

nature.

What is Solid Waste Management?

Solid Waste Management is the

process of reducing, re-using and

recycling waste products. It requires a

change in our habits but does not

necessarily mean a return to a more

difficult lifestyle. Good solid waste

management improves our standard of

living. All waste must be thrown in

waste collection points e.g. bins and

pits. The waste collection points have

to be properly managed in order to

make sure students are not at risk.

In fact if we do not reduce waste, the

economic and social cost of waste

disposal will continue to increase and

communities large and small will face

increasingly harder decisions about

managing their trash.

We need to start re-using Paper,

Glass, Bottles, Aluminum, Wrapping,

and Organic Waste such as spoilt or

unwanted portions of food items, for

example, banana skins and plastics.

16

Precycling

Precycling is making purchasing

decisions that will reduce waste.

Recycling

Recycling on the other hand is the

process of producing goods from

waste products or where possible,

finding other uses for them.

Recycling and precycling

Both help us to make the

best use of our limited

resources.

We can all recycle solid

waste.

We must be dedicated to

collecting recyclable items

such as plastic and bottles

In our school we can set

points were waste that has

been separated can be put

thus easy to send it to

industries for recycling e.g.

a can cage for metal

containers, bottle place for

bottles and a paper cage for

used papers.

Recycling can be a team effort!

Think about purchasing items

which can be re-used. Our goal

should be reducing solid waste!

Menstrual Health and

hygiene

Sharing simple facts

……..the products that girls

usually use during

menstruation include;

o Clean cloth- These are cut

to fit the panty area by

sewing several layers of

cotton rags on top of each

other. The cloth pad must be

washed thoroughly and

hung in a private but sunny

place to dry in order to kill

germs and bacteria that

17

Menstruation has often been dealt with

secrecy in many cultures especially in

developing countries. These perceptions

together with poor and inadequate sanitary

facilities have often kept girls from

attending school especially during

menstruation periods. Thus in many cases

girls grow up with low self esteem and

disempowered from poor educational

attainments.

So what is Menstruation?

Menstruation is the normal, health shedding

of blood and tissue from the uterus that

exits the body via the vagina. It usually lust

between 3 to 7 days. Menstruation begins

when girl is between 9 and 14 years of age.

It is a sign that a girl can now become

pregnant and it happens for most girls once

every month. Menstruation stops in the 40’s

and this is known as menopause.

Managing Menstruation in School

Managing the menstrual flow is very

important as it allows us to continue the

regular activities like going to school,

working etc. Menstruation as regular

process needs good hygienic management.

might be present. The cloth

must not be shared. Thus

several of these can be made

to enable one to change

frequently.

o Toilet tissue- depending

with one’s flow the tissue

layers have to be reasonably

thick to avoid staining and

frequently changed.

o Pads/ sanitary towels-

These are already designed

to fit the panty area and

strips of tape help keep the

pad stuck to the pant. Pads

must also be frequently

changed to avoid staining.

Whatever a girl uses, she should

frequently change it to avoid

staining and odor. Pads cost more

than toilet paper and cloth but all

work equally well.

.................What if

you suddenly bleed

through the clothes?

18

How do schools

support good

management of

menstruation? 1. Presence of water

in/near toilets for

personal hygiene.

2. Incinerators/bins

available in girls’ toilets

for hygienic disposal of

sanitary towels.

3. Material to wrap soiled

sanitary pads should be

made available e.g. old

news papers.

4. Sanitary pads should be

made available in school

in case of emergencies.

5. The school should have

rules on the proper use

of toilets and monitors

their utilization.

6. A female teacher should

be available and

dedicated to assist and

counsel on the issues

which concern girls.

Disposal of sanitary

pads Disposal methods of sanitary pads

are essential in that they ensure

sustainable management.

o Depending with the type of

pad after use, it can be

washed, wrapped in

newspaper/ waste paper and

dropped in bin provided in the

toilets then given away as

waste to garbage collectors or

collected by those responsible

for incineration of these pads.

o If there is no disposal

mechanism provided in your

locality the pads can be

disposed in a pit and burnt or

once the pit is filled up, close

the pit completely and use

another one.

o Or low cost technology

incinerators can be developed

especial in school in rural

areas and boarding schools to

ensure proper disposal of

sanitary wastes.

o The cloth pads also need to be

thrown away after some time.

The cloth pads can also be

incinerated or disposed in a

sanitary pit.

o Flushing of pads in toilets

should not be done as they

tend to clog the sewer pipes.

This should not scare you, it

happens to almost all of us at one

time or another.

1. Tie a sweater or jacket

around waist to cover the

possible stain.

2. Then go to the bathroom

and remove the stain

3. It is advisable to wear dark

clothes and put an extra pant

and pads on days when you

are expecting your period or

when you are flowing

heavily.

19

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development

Goals

The new millennium was opened

with a declaration by both the

developing and developed

countries to rid the world of

poverty, illiteracy, promote human

dignity, equality, peace,

democracy and environmental

sustainability.

SUMMARY OF THE MDGs

GOAL 1: ERADICATE

EXTREME POVERTY &

HUNGER

GOAL 2: ACHIEVE

UNIVERSAL PRIMARY

EDUCATION

GOAL 3: PROMOTE

GENDER EQUALITY

AND EMPOWER WOMEN

GOAL 4:

REDUCE CHILD

MORTALITY

GOAL 5: IMPROVE

MATERNAL HEALTH

GOAL 6: COMBAT

HIV/AIDS, MALARIA &

OTHER DISEASES

GOAL7: ENSURE

ENVIRONMENTAL

SUSTAINABILITY

GOAL 8: DEVELOP A

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

FOR DEVELOPMENT

In September 2000,the United

Nations Millennium Summit sat a

third goal to achieve universal

primary education by 2015.The

aim is to ensure that by 2015

children everywhere both boys and

girls will be able to complete their

primary schooling .

20

Why water, sanitation and

hygiene is important for

Education in Zimbabwe.

Education and the emancipation

of the girl child

Improved access to water means

children, mainly the girl child

will spend less time collecting

water for cleaning and

consumption thus more time

available to attend school and

focus on their studies.

Education and Health

The availability of hygienic

latrines and improved sanitation

of the physical environment

would lead to a decrease in

Urinary Tract Infections and

other infections connected to

poor hygiene. This would also

see improved concentration and

better participation by students.

Sickness has been proved to be

stressful and impairs a child’s

ability to concentrate.

Education and development

Investment in water, sanitation and

hygiene will enhance

productivity and promote

economic growth. Lack of

education denies a society the

basis for sustainable

development.

Education and income

generation

Safe and easy access to water and

sanitation facilities enables

effective utilization of resources

and provides economic

opportunity to supplement

incomes that could be used to

develop the quality of education

and increase the percentage of

the population who would attain

primary education.

21

Zimbabwe and the MDGs

The Millennium Development Goals bind countries to commit

themselves to finding solutions from within their nations and provide

practical solutions that are relevant to their particular problems. Our

country Zimbabwe is working hard to achieve the MDGS.

Some of the activities that the nation is doing to achieve the goals and

which school children can participate include the following events:

-Sanitation Week

-Global Hand washing Day

The Sanitation Week

Sanitation week is a national

event that is celebrated

annually in September. The

purpose of the sanitation week

was and still remains to

promote improved sanitation

throughout Zimbabwe and raise

awareness on the importance of

sanitation in the context of

national development. Access to safe drinking water and safe disposal of

human excreta are regarded as universal needs and indeed - basic human

rights, which are key to human development and poverty alleviation.

22

The first sanitation week was celebrated in Zimbabwe from the 14th -18

th of

September 1998. Zimbabwe also celebrated the International Year of

Sanitation in September 2008.

The Global Hand-washing Day

The Global hand washing

day was initiated in 2008.

In Zimbabwe it was first

celebrated in 2009,

October the 15th. It is now

an annual global event in

which we should all

participate. The day was

designed to do the

following:

o Foster and support a global and local culture of HWWS

o Shine a spotlight on the state of hand washing in each country

o Raise awareness about the benefits of HWWS

The good news is that school children remain to be the main player in these

activities. So get involved!!!

23

Children’s Rights

Human Rights are Children’s Rights.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

(20 November 1989), the following rights are among several children’s

rights:

The right to safe drinking water

The right to basic sanitation

The right to protection from harm

The right to education

The right to good health

The Convention on the Rights of a Child is a universally agreed set of non-

negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards set minimum

entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments and all

people. The convention advocates for the protection of children’s rights, to

help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to full

potential.

As a child, get involved in demanding for your rights!!

24

WASH CROSSWORD PUZZLE

1 5

2

6 4

10

7

3

8

H

9

Down

1. A basic need of life.(5 words) 2. A pro-poor household water treatment method- solar water

..............(12 words)SODIS

3. A common water washed disease. (7 words)

Up

4. Hands should be washed ......... (3 words) times before eating. Across

5. A very common water treatment method (7 words)

6. Water related disease common in hot areas

7. Personal hygiene- keep your ..................... (5 words) Short and clean

8. One of the properties of water that can be measured (2 words)

9. The .............. (6 words) of a cup is important for hygiene purposes

Diagonal 10. If one suffers from severe diarrhoea, .................................. (9 words)

the patient