1 in 4 schools in Romania lacked the necessary facilities for handwashing in 2019, UNICEF report reads

One in four schools in Romania did not have last year, access to the basic facilities regarding the handwashing with water and soap, an essential condition for safety in schools amid the COVD-19 pandemic, reads data provided by the joint monitoring programme of UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

At the same time, the report notes that 72% of the schools based in Romania did not have the minimum access to clean drinking water and to basic sanitary facilities.

“Romanian children must be able to continue learning. The formal education has been partly interrupted in early March. Although coming back to school should be in maximum safety conditions for children, their families and teachers, one in four schools in Romania has no access to proper facilities to provide the hand hygiene, from clean drinking water to safe sanitary facilities. The current moment represent the best opportunity to address this challenge once and for all. Let’s build better by providing the vulnerable children with functional facilities to ensure hygiene that is so important for their health”, said Gabriel Vockel, the deputy representative of UNICEF  in Romania, as quoted in a press release.

According to the WHO / UNICEF report, 818 million children worldwide have no access to minimum facilities for handwashing, which is exposing them to a high risk of getting infected with COVID-19 or with other contagious diseases.

Over one third of these children (295 millions) originate from Sub-Saharan Africa. In the less developed countries, 7 in 10 schools do not have the elementary facilities needed for handwashing, while half of the schools have no access to minimum services of water supply and sanitation.