Dubai Cares to clean up schools in West Africa

In Mali, 55% of schools do not have a water point and 54% do not have adequate sanitation facilities. Photo: Getty

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Dubai Cares has allocated US $18 million to promote hygiene and provide access to clean water in schools across West Africa.

‘Wash-in-Schools’ education programmes will directly benefit over 1.7 million children in Mali and Sierra Leone.

In Mali, 55% of schools do not have a water point and 54% do not have adequate sanitation facilities, according to national statistics.

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And, in Sierra Leone, only 39% of the population has access to improved sanitation while only 57% has access to an improved water source, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Poor sanitation facilities and shortage of clean water are one of the key factors affecting school attendance, particularly for girls.

"Dubai Cares has allocated US $18 million to better access and improve quality of education in Mali and Sierra Leone. These actions form an integral part of Dubai Cares efforts in implementing His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's vision to ensure quality primary education for children in developing countries,” said Dubai Cares CEO Tariq Al Gurg.

The Mali programme will provide basic low-cost water and sanitation infrastructure to ensure a healthy and adequate learning environment. It will also focus on hygiene promotion in both the school and the community to ensure behavior change over the long term.

Meanwhile, Dubai Cares will support UNICEF and Plan International, a children's organisation working with communities in 48 developing countries to alleviate child poverty, to implement pilot ‘Wash-in-Schools’ programmes in two area districts of Sierra Leone.

These will provide wash facilities, peer education on healthy water and sanitation practices, and implement school and community-led total sanitation approaches to ensure the reach and sustainability of healthy sanitation.