February 8, 2023

EDITOR - EMILY JAMES

SOCIAL EDITOR-CJ

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    According to a UNESCO report, A third of the world's children are deprived of fresh water in their schools, which affects their health and also limits their ability to learn.

The report, entitled "ready to learn and thrive: school health and nutrition in the world", States: "globally, almost one in three schools does not have access to drinking water and one in three schools does not have basic sanitation. Almost half of the schools are not equipped with places for washing hands with soap and water.. And progress is very slow".

"Children in low-income countries have fewer opportunities to attend schools that provide basic services, with the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific region,"the report added.

This lack of infrastructure prevents schools from providing "a safe environment that protects against diseases, covid, parasites, respiratory diseases, and diarrhea,"Emily sedaner, coordinator of this report at UNESCO, explained to Agence France-Presse.

The expert on school health and nutrition added that this poses a "challenge", especially for girls and sometimes even teachers "who cannot go to school during the monthly period", which hinders "girls' access to education fairly".

In Bhutan, a quarter of girls do not attend school at some periods during menstruation, as well as one in five girls in Ivory Coast and one in seven in Burkina Faso, the expert stressed.

This has a significant impact on malnutrition among children, as schools that do not have access to drinking water cannot provide food to their students, sidanir noted.

"There is a need to invest more to save and purify water," she stressed because this provides "quality education".

Since hunger undermines concentration and appetite for learning, "it will be difficult for science students who are not healthy, well-fed and protected at school to absorb the knowledge that the school can provide".