AMREF’s Integrated School Health Programme for Child Survival in Senegal seeks to improve the health and nutritional status of children in schools and in their communities. The project is a partnership between AMREF and the Senegalese Division of Medical School Control, with the support of Club Sante through AMREF France and ANTENA 3 Foundation through AMREF Spain.
At the Thilogne Primary School in the Region of Matam, AMREF has built toilet blocks and improved sanitation facilities to ensure that pupils and teachers have clean toilet facilities and to reduce congestion. The school has 737 pupils (424 girls and 313 boys) and 18 teachers, two of whom are women. Before AMREF’s intervention, all the pupils and teachers were sharing one block of four toilets, with no separate facilities for boys and girls. Because they had no running water and no provision for hand washing, the toilets quickly filled up with waste and pupils frequently fell ill with diarrhoea.
In January this year, AMREF finished construction of two new toilet blocks at the school. The new facilities have a separate block with three toilets for girls and female teachers, and another block, also with three toilets, for the boys and male teachers.
The Director of the school, Mr Baila Pam, is very pleased with the new facilities. He says: “Following AMREF’s intervention, we now have good toilets with plenty of space and with water to clean the toilets after use. The availability of taps with running water will also encourage pupils to clean their hands and faces after using the toilets. They will now stop falling ill and missing school as a result of water-borne diseases. We are deeply grateful to AMREF for this project.”