Dear Paresh,
Thank you for raising such an insightful point. I completely agree that the connection between WASH and education extends far beyond the provision of water points and sanitation facilities; it’s about embedding WASH knowledge, practice, and responsibility into learning systems themselves.

Here in Zambia, several initiatives have shown how education systems can strengthen WASH systems in practical and systemic ways:

• SPLASH (Schools Promoting Learning Achievement through Sanitation and Hygiene) – implemented in Zambia’s Eastern Province, this program reached nearly 500 primary schools by integrating WASH not only through improved infrastructure but also through curriculum development and teacher training, linking schools with community health promotion:  www.washplus.org/countries/zambia.html?utm  

• SOAR “Soap-on-a-Rope” Initiative (Namwala District) – a behavioural nudge project where students carried soap on a rope to school latrines, which significantly increased handwashing with soap among pupils. It’s a great example of student engagement driving WASH behaviour change:  akros.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Nal...al_SOAR_2018.pdf?utm  

• Sanitation and Girls’ Education Study – national data from over 10,000 Zambian schools revealed that improved sanitation access correlates with higher female enrollment and lower dropout rates, particularly during puberty:  www.researchgate.net/publication/3212146...rogression_in_Zambia  

• Institutional Lessons (Choma District) – a local assessment found that despite enthusiasm for WASH-in-Schools, challenges persist in financing, coordination, and monitoring, emphasizing the need for education ministries and local authorities to take a more active role in system strengthening:  dspace.unza.zm/server/api/core/bitstream...5db7fadc/content?utm  

These examples highlight that integrating WASH education, data collection, and participatory activities into school programs can create lasting behavioural change while contributing valuable data for planning and monitoring. It would indeed be worthwhile for education ministries and universities to more deliberately embed WASH literacy and applied learning into curricula, building not only informed students, but also the next generation of community WASH champions.

Warm regards,
Benny 

Dear community,
I was recently reading Review of systems thinking in rural WASH programming and research , (its open access, yay!!), a review paper by Kate Neely and Nicholas Valcourt, when the following statement caught my attention 

WASH and education go beyond the provision of water and sanitation facilities in schools, and may include the need to include WASH within health and science curriculum areas and in community education.

That is, the authors argue that WASH in education to also include the imparting of WASH knowledge, as many communities in low-resource settings rely on self-supply or community-managed services, both of which require members to know practical aspects of operating and maintaining safe and secure water (and sanitation and hygiene) services.  Sutton and Butterworth (2021) highlight that clause 25 of the Human Right ot water includes the obligation of governments to ensure appropriate education concerning water (and sanitation and hygiene). 

In a study , we employed university students (participants of a summer/winter school) as enumerators for a large survey.  Our argument is that in low-resource settings, the data needed for planning WASH services is often not available; such exercises help gather the required data and provide a multidisciplinary exposure to developmental issues, thereby building the capacities of future professionals and researchers. However, I had not come across the above link between water and education/schools. This raises a couple of questions for the WINS group:

1. How do we see the role of education systems (schools, universities, technical institutes) in strengthening WASH systems? Have you come across examples where WASH education or student involvement has contributed to improved service delivery or community awareness?
2. Should education ministries and universities be more deliberately engaged in WASH system strengthening, beyond infrastructure provision? What might integrating WASH literacy and practical learning into curricula look like in different contexts?

I am eager to hear your thoughts.

I am also keen to learn about initiatives that connect education and WASH system development — for instance, student-led data collection, curriculum integration, or community outreach. Are there examples or resources you’d recommend exploring?

Regards
paresh