What is A-WASH?
The Ambassador’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Schools (A-WASH) Initiative supports the development of safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education (WASH) in primary schools across the globe. Worldwide, children lose 272 million days of school annually due to sickness, often caused by inadequate WASH at schools. In fact, one study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that over 40% of all diarrhea cases in school children result from diseases transmitted in schools. A-WASH provides an opportunity for participating ambassadors to address this crisis.
The lack of WASH in schools is especially troubling as it relates to girls. Females are most often responsible for fetching water, and the time this requires can prevent girls from attending school. When girls do attend school, a lack of toilets can force girls to enter surrounding woods and bushes to find privacy, where they risk harassment and even attack. Once girls reach puberty, the lack of adequate toilets becomes an even greater obstacle to education.
These challenges are solvable. Furthermore, providing WASH in schools has a cascading impact on students as well as the surrounding community. In addition to helping students stay healthier, supporting WASH in schools is also an effective investment in the future. Students who don’t get sick have the opportunity to learn more at school and better educated students today lead to a smarter and more productive workforce tomorrow. Because inadequate water and sanitation access uniquely impacts girls, providing WASH can even help to promote gender equality. Finally, the impact of providing WASH in schools goes far beyond the walls of the schoolhouse. Students act as agents of behavior change in their wider community by transmitting hygiene lessons to their parents and siblings.
Despite the clear need for progress on WASH in schools, global momentum has been limited. A-WASH is leveraging the support of participating United States Ambassadors to meaningfully advance WASH in schools activities in developing countries around the globe. By contributing time and resources, U.S. Ambassadors shine a spotlight on this important issue while working to mobilize productive dialogue and meaningful action in their host countries. In addition to supporting WASH in schools progress at the local level, A-WASH coordinates diverse projects under a common initiative to effectively demonstrate the United States’ commitment to WASH in Schools. A-WASH is supported by the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), Millennium Water Alliance (MWA), Global Water Challenge (GWC), and the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG).