WASH in Schools for Girls: Advocacy and Capacity Building for MHM through WASH in Schools

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a country of nearly 6 million people in Central Asia. Two thirds of its people live in rural areas. The life expectancy at birth is 70 years. Its per capita Gross National Income is USD 1100 (2016, WB Atlas method). Secondary education enrollment has been above 90% for the past several years, with girls slightly outnumbering boys.^[1]

UNICEF’s Country Programme in Kyrgyzstan aims to reach the most disadvantaged children in the country and to promote equity. UNICEF works at the policy level with the Government to improve the social system, and on the ground to make sure that this system reaches all children.^[2]

The objective of the WinS4Girls program was to improve understanding of the importance of MHM in the school system by reaching girls, boys, parents, teachers, head teachers, and education administrators with education materials.

Quick Facts
Percentage of schools with: Basic drinking water Basic sanitation or toilets Of which single sex toilets	30% 53% 15%
Literacy rate for youth (15 - 24 years old)	100
Primary education completion rate	100
Secondary education completion rate	86
Gender parity rate in secondary schools competition (number of females to male)	1.04

Source

Global Education Monitoring Report, Education for People and Planet: Creating Sustainable Solutions for All. UNESCO, 2016. Paris, FR.

Partners

Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic.
District Education Department of Chui district.
District Education Department of Osh district.
Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.
Local school administrators.

IMPLEMENTATION PACKAGE

Under WinS4Girls, UNICEF worked with ministries of education and other partners at national level (typically through MHM Working Groups) to develop and promote a MHM intervention package informed by the WinS4Girls formative research.

Depending on the country, the intervention packages have taken different forms in response to the diverse needs expressed by girls, their teachers, and their families during the research. For example, they may include national or sub-national policies and guidelines; learning and communication materials; and training modules for teachers, health workers, and peer educators. In some cases, the package has included infrastructure development and pad production or distribution.

The package includes the following:

Girl’s puberty books are designed for self-study to increase awareness on puberty and MHM.
Guidelines to help teachers talk to their students about MHM and develop their knowledge.
Guidelines to help parents talk to their students about MHM and develop their knowledge.
Research report used for advocacy to raise awareness about MHM with education administrators.

UNICEF facilitated the development of the MoU between the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and an instruction for school administrators and teachers to raise their responsibility for maintenance of WASH facilities in their schools and WINS promotion, including the MHM. The training module for teachers and administrators to build their capacity to address MHM in the school setting was developed by Save the Children beyond the scope of the WINS4Girls project but in close coordination.

Research

The research was conducted at seven schools. The team conducted interviews and focus group discussion with girls to understand how they experience menarche and MHM. The team also spoke to boys to gauge the extent of their understanding of the issues and to explore any myths and misconceptions that they might have. Parents, both mothers and fathers, were interviewed as to understand the situation at home in the community. The team also conducted site visits to assess the infrastructure in the schools.

Visit the Resources Section to download the implementation package

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