School Health and Nutrition

An initial assessment performed by Save the Children in schools within its impact area shows they have poor sanitary and nutritional practices. For instance, only one out of ten students wash their hands after using latrines and these are in bad condition. In general, snacks available at some schools have low nutritional value and those in charge of preparing and providing snacks undertake risky sanitary practices. Consequently, Save the Children focused on improving sanitary practices with the school population and fostering the adoption of enhanced nutritional practices. 

Currently at schools with over one year of intervention the situation has changed dramatically. For instance, nine out of ten students properly wash their hands after latrine use and school snacks are healthier in nutritional and sanitary terms. In addition, one of the main achievements of Save the Children is that the intervention is primarily run by school brigadiers (students) under the “child to child” methodology where they are responsible for the school transformation in the School Health and Nutrition area. Training and in situ technical assistance are provided on leadership, management by Save the Children staff.