Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
The impact of a school-based water supply and treatment, hygiene, and sanitation programme on pupil diarrhoea: a
M C Freeman1, T Clasen2, R Dreibelbis3
1Center for Global Safe Water, Department of Environmental Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Abstract:
The impact of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) access on mitigating illness is well documented, although impact of school-based WASH on school-aged children has not been rigorously explored. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial in Nyanza Province, Kenya to assess the impact of a school-based WASH intervention on diarrhoeal disease in primary-school pupils. Two study populations were used: schools with a nearby dry season water source and those without. Pupils attending 'water-available' schools that received hygiene promotion and water treatment (HP&WT) and sanitation improvements showed no difference in period prevalence or duration of illness compared to pupils attending control schools. Those pupils in schools that received only the HP&WT showed similar results. Pupils in 'water-scarce' schools that received a water-supply improvement, HP&WT and sanitation showed a reduction in diarrhoea incidence and days of illness. Our study revealed mixed results on the impact of improvements to school WASH improvements on pupil diarrhoea.
