Photo story: Water and sanitation improvements at Atono school in Kenya

Mr Daniel Odhiambo is head-master of the Atono school in Nyanza, one of only four schools in Kenya with urinals for girls. This school was selected by SWASH+ to receive this intervention and the infrastructure was paid for by the SWASH+ program and is evaluated by the SWASH team.

SWASH+ (www.swashplus.org) is a five-year applied research programme to identify, develop and test innovative approaches to school-based water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Implementing partners are CARE, Emory University, Water.org, SWASH+ and it is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Netwas Kenya and IRC also visited this school as part of a UNICEF Kenya study of 43 schools in four districts: Coast (Mombasa); Nyanza (Rachuonyo & Kisumu); Rift Valley (Kajiado); and North Eastern (Garissa). The aim of the study was to find out if the national Kenyan Ministry of Health's standard ratio of 1 latrine to 25 girls and 1 toilet to 30 boys can be downgraded if the pupils also have access to urinals, and if so, what would be the new ratio.