Attachments
2. Background & Rationale
Since 2011, a total of 655,056 Syrians has been registered as refugees in Jordan. 79,013 are currently registered in Zaatari camp (Mafraq governorate) and 53,229 in Azraq camp (Zarqa governorate). In Zaatari and Azraq camps, school-aged children (six to 17 years old) constitutes the largest demographic group. In Azraq in 2017, school-aged children made up 35 per cent of the total population, 75% of whom were reportedly attending formal schools. In Zaatari, 11 schools provide education to 20,771 school-aged children from an eligible population (5-17yrs) of 28,569. UNICEF is the lead agency for the WASH sector in Jordan, coordinating all related activities - including hygiene promotion activities and non-food items distributions- within both camps since their openings. It is now widely documented that WASH in Schools (WinS), by reducing the prevalence of hygiene-related preventable disease, affects students’ health in a positive manner and as matter of fact attendance rate. Further, healthy children are also more concentrated resulting in better educational attainment of children. Indirectly it also helps reducing the gender educational gap as looking after siblings is commonly a task given to girls and is, as such, a factor of absenteeism. Although a large amount of information (maps, factsheets, reports) on the WASH infrastructure of both Zaatari and Azraq camps has been collected since 2013; data on the water, sanitation and hygiene situation within the schools of both camps remains very limited. For this reason, REACH has been mandated by UNICEF to address the lack of research on WASH infrastructures in schools as well as the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding WASH prevalent among the enrolled school-aged children of both camps. This assessment will be divided into two phases, the first of which aiming to a) evaluate all WASH infrastructures for children and school staff attending KG, formal schools and certified NFE facilities in the light of the national standards for WASH in schools in Jordan/SoPs related to WASH applicable in both camps; b) identify key gaps regarding hygiene, maintenance and access of WASH infrastructures in previously mentioned facilities. To supplement the WinS assessment, phase 2 will a) assess the water, sanitation and hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practices of enrolled school-aged children; and b) contextualise WinS assessment and KAP survey findings on hygiene practices and barriers to accessing facilities through the conduction of KIIs and FGDs. Over the course of this research, special attention will be devoted to WASH infrastructures’ accessibility to differently abled children and girls in menstruating age.