Pilot Study Assessing Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) Program in Public Secondary Schools in South-Western Nigeria.

The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene in schools has been established to improve health, boost educational achievement, and promote gender equity which has a positive impact on the society. The aim of this study is to ascertain the state of WASH program in public secondary schools in South-Western Nigeria. A total of twelve schools which span across three Cities in two States (Lagos and Ogun), in South-Western Nigeria were selected. The standard for WASH in schools by UNICEF was used as the guiding principles to evaluate the adequacy of the various WASH components. Out of the 12 public secondary schools visited, only 3 (25%) had drinking water points (boreholes) and 40% of the schools do not have separate latrines for boys and girls. Only 1 (10%) of the schools had hand washing points but without soap and there is no program in the schools for promoting privacy of older girls. This study reveals that the present WASH practice in many of the schools is not satisfactory. Therefore, to maximize the potential of students as the most persuasive advocates of good WASH practices in the society, it is necessary to integrate WASH program into national education policy