In September, Human Rights Watch visited schools in the Central Plateau of Haiti to assess water and sanitation conditions at educational facilities, including some recently constructed with money from international donors that lacked adequate water and sanitation facilities. None of the schools visited complied with the government guidelines for hygiene in schools. Teachers, students, and government officials reported that the situation was dire and had a negative impact on education. According to Human Rights Watch, based on its research, nearly 60% of Haiti’s schools have no toilets and more than three-quarters lack access to water.

"The majority of children in Haiti attend schools in such poor condition that they risk contracting disease," declared Amanda Klasing, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "If donors are serious about improving health in Haiti, then they have to address kids’ right to attend schools that don’t make them sick."

A focus on improving water and sanitation in schools is crucial to any discussion of investments aimed at decreasing the risk of water-borne diseases and preventable child deaths in Haiti, Human Rights Watch said. The World Bank should take the lead in promoting the rights to water and sanitation for school children, including with commitments to :

• Support the development, adoption, and implementation of a national plan on water and sanitation in schools;

• Meet Ministry of National Education and Professional Development and Haitian government water infrastructure guidelines for basic requirements for the construction of sanitation facilities in rehabilitation and construction of schools;

  Integrate water and sanitation programming into existing education investments, amend results frameworks to include water and sanitation indicators, and work with other donors to do the same; and

• Ensure that schools are included in water and sanitation infrastructure plans and funding as part of the cholera eradication plan.

"Addressing Haiti’s water and sanitation needs requires a firm commitment to ensure that children don’t face a high risk of infection when they go to school [...] That includes making sure that kids have safe water and toilets at school," concluded Amanda Klasing.

HL/ HaitiLibre