World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2019, Vol. 5, No. 3, 176-183 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/wjssh/5/3/7 Published by Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/wjssh-5-3-7 Status of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities in Public Secondary Schools in Yenagoa, Nigeria Odafivwotu Ohwo * Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria *Corresponding author: drohwodafe@gmail.com Received August 10, 2019; Revised September 13, 2019; Accepted September 20, 2019 Abstract Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services have positive implications on students learning outcomes. Hence, this study assessed the status of WASH services in public secondary schools in Yenagoa. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, which involved direct field observation of WASH facilities and the administration of structured questionnaire to the entire 16 public secondary schools in Yenagoa. However, the analysis involved 15 schools, as one of the schools did not return its questionnaire. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) classification of WASH services in schools. The results show that WASH services in most of the schools are inadequate and unsatisfactory. Hygiene service was the worst provided WASH services in the schools as only two (13.33%) schools had basic hygiene service, one (6.67%) school had limited hygiene service and 12 (80%) schools had no service. Next was water service where three (20%) schools had basic drinking water service, another three (20%) schools had limited drinking water service and nine (60%) schools had no water service. Although sanitation had the best WASH coverage in the schools, basic sanitation service was only obtainable in seven (46.67%) schools, limited sanitation service in five (33.33%) schools and no service in three (20%) schools. Also, the toilet to students’ ratio ranges from 1:27 to 1:760, which were higher than the WHO recommended average of 1:25 for girls and 1:50 for boys. The study recommends the prioritization of the provision of WASH services in schools. Keywords: hygiene, public, sanitation, secondary school, water, Yenagoa Cite This Article: Odafivwotu Ohwo, “Status of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities in Public Secondary Schools in Yenagoa, Nigeria.” World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 5, no. 3 (2019): 176-183. doi: 10.12691/wjssh-5-3-7. 1. Introduction Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are basic requirements for healthy living, especially for children below the age of five. Unfortunately, these basic requirements are poorly provided in most developing countries, especially, sub-Saharan Africa, as the region could not meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets for water and sanitation [1]. Over the past years, the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) has focused more on households’ access to WASH, with less emphasis on institutional (healthcare facilities and schools) access, even though these are places where people of different socio-economic, cultural and health status meet on a daily basis. The risks of acquiring infectious diseases due to inadequate WASH services in these settings are high [1], hence the JMP since 2015, has prioritize global monitoring of WASH in schools and healthcare facilities. Several impacts of inadequate WASH in schools have been documented in the literature. Inadequate WASH services negatively affect children’s health and well-being; increase the rate of school absenteeism, poor cognitive performance and growth retardation [2,3,4]. Inadequate WASH services in schools may lead to dehydration, diarrhea, worm and urinary infections. Diarrhea and worm infections are the major health burdens amongst schoolchildren, which have been associated with poor WASH services. In fact, 88% of diarrhea cases are caused by inadequate WASH services [5], which contribute significantly to the rate of absenteeism in school. Studies have shown that adequate WASH services in schools promote school attendance. For example, a campaign promoting hand washing with soap in thirty primary schools in Egypt reduced diarrhea-related absenteeism by 30% [6]. Similar findings have also been reported in Colombia and China [7,8]. Hand washing with soap and water, as simple as it is, has been identified as one of the most effective barriers to the transmission of WASH-related diseases and could reduce the incidence of diarrhea disease by 42 to 48% [9]. Unfortunately, this life saving exercise is not frequently practiced in most schools in developing countries due to several reasons such as lack or unreliable water sources, hand washing facilities with soap and water, and poor hygiene education [10,11].