What we are learning
Insights from the School-WISE project
Data collection is complete at several sites and analysis is underway. Full findings will be published in peer-reviewed papers and in site reports returned to participating schools. Three patterns are already clear.
Pattern one
Service availability is not the same as service adequacy
Students and staff at schools classified as having basic WASH services can still go without.
Qualitative work established this; the School-WISE data now show it quantitatively, revealing how often these problems occur and who is most affected. At several sites where WASH infrastructure was available, students and staff still reported substantial difficulty reaching the facilities, or found that the services were not of adequate quality and functionality to meet their needs reliably.
The practical consequence is that supply-side indicators alone can make a school look adequately served while the people inside it are not. Experiential data complement those indicators: they bring these difficulties into view and support the work of making sure people's WASH needs are met.
Pattern two
WASH disparities exist within and across schools
Because the scales collect individual-level data rather than a single facility rating, they can show disparities by age, gender, disability, and position at the school.
This makes it possible to identify disparities across groups and to reveal where there is a mismatch between the WASH services a school has and what people experience when they try to use them.
Across several sites, for example, we see differences between students and staff, although not always in the same direction. Sometimes staff have access to better services; sometimes they hold higher expectations of those services and are more likely to report problems that affect their wellbeing and their ability to do their work. See student and staff results by site
Pattern three
Challenges across all domains
Difficulties are not confined to one domain.
Across sites, students and staff report problems with water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management, and which domain is most burdensome differs from school to school. Handwashing infrastructure, for example, is often present; soap at the moment of need often is not.
Among the most common challenges across schools is managing menstruation, which is not currently captured as a standalone service level in global monitoring. Asking students and staff who menstruate about their own experience is among the best ways to identify where provision falls short.
Explore the data
Below you can explore every School-WISE item asked at each site. Pick a site and a domain; the grey bar is the difference between the percentage of students and the percentage of staff who reported it.
Water
Sanitation
Hygiene
Menstrual healthAsked of students and staff who menstruate
Waste management
See the numbers for this site as a table
| Item | Students % | Students answering | Staff % | Staff answering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Worried there would not be enough safe drinking water | 32.0 | 200 | 51.0 | 100 |
| Drinking water tasted, looked, or smelled bad | 12.5 | 200 | 13.0 | 100 |
| Thought the drinking water could make them sick | 0.5 | 200 | 1.0 | 100 |
| Felt thirsty but had no safe water to drink | 48.0 | 200 | 44.0 | 100 |
| Could not concentrate because of thirst | 13.5 | 200 | 19.0 | 100 |
| Felt annoyed because of problems with water | 35.5 | 200 | 49.0 | 100 |
| Water supply was interrupted (staff only) | – | – | 73.0 | 100 |
| School activities were affected by water problems (staff only) | – | – | 35.0 | 100 |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Unable to use the toilet when needed | 36.5 | 200 | 33.0 | 100 |
| Thought the toilets were dirty | 71.0 | 200 | 45.0 | 100 |
| Worried they could be seen while using the toilet | 31.5 | 200 | 12.0 | 100 |
| Ate or drank less to avoid using the toilet | 9.5 | 200 | 6.0 | 100 |
| Needed the toilet but waited until they got home | 36.0 | 200 | 25.0 | 100 |
| Felt it was unsafe to go to the toilet | 17.5 | 200 | 10.0 | 100 |
| Not enough materials to clean themselves after using the toilet | 51.5 | 200 | 54.0 | 100 |
| Felt ashamed to use the toilet | 18.5 | 200 | 5.0 | 100 |
| Could not concentrate because they needed the toilet | 17.0 | 200 | 11.0 | 100 |
| School activities were affected by sanitation problems (staff only) | – | – | 14.0 | 100 |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Not enough water for washing hands | 53.5 | 200 | 74.0 | 100 |
| Not enough soap for washing hands | 94.0 | 200 | 79.0 | 100 |
| Unable to wash their hands when they wanted to | 42.0 | 200 | 53.0 | 100 |
| Menstrual health | ||||
| Felt nervous about coming to school because of their period | 13.2 | 76 | 9.5 | 42 |
| Missed class, teaching, or work because of their period | 14.5 | 76 | 4.8 | 42 |
| No clean and safe place to change menstrual materials | 53.9 | 76 | 28.6 | 42 |
| Difficult to dispose of menstrual materials privately | 26.3 | 76 | 11.9 | 42 |
| Did not have materials to absorb their period | 23.7 | 76 | 11.9 | 42 |
| Worried menstrual materials would not be available in an emergency | 28.9 | 76 | 11.9 | 42 |
| Unable to wash after changing menstrual materials | 48.7 | 76 | 31.0 | 42 |
| Waste management | ||||
| Thought classrooms or other indoor spaces were dirty | 21.0 | 200 | 25.0 | 100 |
| Thought the school grounds were dirty | 11.0 | 200 | 18.0 | 100 |
| Heavy rains or flooding disrupted school activities (past 12 months) (staff only) | – | – | 16.0 | 100 |
How to read this. Each dot is the share of respondents who said they had experienced the item (answering “sometimes” or “many times” rather than “never”), out of those who answered it. The grey bar shows the gap between students and school staff.
Item wording was adapted for each site and is shortened here; hover over a dot for the percentage and the number of respondents behind it. Menstrual health items were asked only of students and staff who menstruate. Values based on fewer than 30 respondents are not shown.
Students answered about the past week and school staff about the past four weeks.
These are preliminary descriptive results from the scale-development phase. They describe the participating schools only, are not representative of the country, and have not yet been peer reviewed.
Water
Sanitation
Hygiene
Menstrual healthAsked of students and staff who menstruate
Waste management
See the numbers for this site as a table
| Item | Students % | Students answering | Staff % | Staff answering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Worried there would not be enough safe drinking water | 25.6 | 270 | 36.0 | 100 |
| Drinking water tasted, looked, or smelled bad | 27.1 | 273 | 29.0 | 100 |
| Thought the drinking water could make them sick | 10.9 | 275 | 15.2 | 99 |
| Felt thirsty but had no safe water to drink | 29.0 | 272 | 27.3 | 99 |
| Could not concentrate because of thirst | 24.2 | 273 | 26.0 | 100 |
| Felt annoyed because of problems with water | 21.2 | 274 | 26.3 | 99 |
| Water supply was interrupted (staff only) | – | – | 27.0 | 100 |
| School activities were affected by water problems (staff only) | – | – | 7.0 | 100 |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Unable to use the toilet when needed | 30.1 | 276 | 46.0 | 100 |
| Thought the toilets were dirty | 61.8 | 275 | 56.0 | 100 |
| Worried they could be seen while using the toilet | 29.9 | 274 | 32.0 | 100 |
| Ate or drank less to avoid using the toilet | 21.4 | 276 | 15.2 | 99 |
| Needed the toilet but waited until they got home | 46.7 | 276 | 38.0 | 100 |
| Felt it was unsafe to go to the toilet | 14.2 | 275 | 36.0 | 100 |
| Not enough materials to clean themselves after using the toilet | 58.5 | 275 | 55.0 | 100 |
| Felt ashamed to use the toilet | 31.5 | 276 | 30.0 | 100 |
| Could not concentrate because they needed the toilet | 23.2 | 276 | 20.0 | 100 |
| School activities were affected by sanitation problems (staff only) | – | – | 2.0 | 100 |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Not enough water for washing hands | 82.9 | 275 | 25.0 | 100 |
| Not enough soap for washing hands | 47.6 | 275 | 69.0 | 100 |
| Unable to wash their hands when they wanted to | 64.4 | 275 | 52.0 | 100 |
| Menstrual health | ||||
| Felt nervous about coming to school because of their period | 54.1 | 85 | 11.4 | 44 |
| Missed class, teaching, or work because of their period | 25.9 | 85 | 4.4 | 45 |
| No clean and safe place to change menstrual materials | 68.2 | 85 | 28.9 | 45 |
| Difficult to dispose of menstrual materials privately | 71.8 | 85 | 44.4 | 45 |
| Did not have materials to absorb their period | 71.8 | 85 | 44.4 | 45 |
| Worried menstrual materials would not be available in an emergency | 76.5 | 85 | 40.0 | 45 |
| Unable to wash after changing menstrual materials | 71.8 | 85 | 42.2 | 45 |
| Waste management | ||||
| Thought classrooms or other indoor spaces were dirty | 36.2 | 276 | 52.5 | 99 |
| Thought the school grounds were dirty | 43.5 | 276 | 58.0 | 100 |
| Heavy rains or flooding disrupted school activities (past 12 months) (staff only) | – | – | 80.0 | 100 |
How to read this. Each dot is the share of respondents who said they had experienced the item (answering “sometimes” or “many times” rather than “never”), out of those who answered it. The grey bar shows the gap between students and school staff.
Item wording was adapted for each site and is shortened here; hover over a dot for the percentage and the number of respondents behind it. Menstrual health items were asked only of students and staff who menstruate. Values based on fewer than 30 respondents are not shown.
Students answered about the past week and school staff about the past four weeks.
These are preliminary descriptive results from the scale-development phase. They describe the participating schools only, are not representative of the country, and have not yet been peer reviewed.
Water
Sanitation
Hygiene
Menstrual healthAsked of students and staff who menstruate
Waste management
See the numbers for this site as a table
| Item | Students % | Students answering | Staff % | Staff answering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Worried there would not be enough safe drinking water | 30.1 | 322 | 44.2 | 113 |
| Drinking water tasted, looked, or smelled bad | 42.3 | 317 | 29.7 | 111 |
| Thought the drinking water could make them sick | 17.7 | 316 | 40.5 | 111 |
| Felt thirsty but had no safe water to drink | 24.8 | 322 | 17.9 | 112 |
| Could not concentrate because of thirst | 38.0 | 79 | not shown | 20 |
| Felt annoyed because of problems with water | 20.5 | 322 | 19.5 | 113 |
| Water supply was interrupted (staff only) | – | – | 24.1 | 112 |
| School activities were affected by water problems (staff only) | – | – | 8.9 | 112 |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Unable to use the toilet when needed | 28.0 | 322 | 35.7 | 112 |
| Thought the toilets were dirty | 81.1 | 322 | 68.5 | 111 |
| Thought the toilets smelled bad | 93.2 | 322 | 88.3 | 111 |
| Worried they could be seen while using the toilet | 32.0 | 322 | 19.8 | 111 |
| Ate or drank less to avoid using the toilet | 8.8 | 320 | 2.7 | 111 |
| Needed the toilet but waited until they got home | 23.9 | 322 | 6.3 | 111 |
| Felt it was unsafe to go to the toilet | 31.4 | 322 | 26.8 | 112 |
| Not enough materials to clean themselves after using the toilet | 51.4 | 321 | 25.2 | 111 |
| Felt ashamed to use the toilet | 23.3 | 322 | 14.4 | 111 |
| Could not concentrate because they needed the toilet | 19.6 | 322 | 10.8 | 111 |
| School activities were affected by sanitation problems (staff only) | – | – | 6.3 | 111 |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Not enough water for washing hands | 25.2 | 322 | 14.4 | 111 |
| Not enough soap for washing hands | 69.6 | 322 | 53.2 | 111 |
| Unable to wash their hands when they wanted to | 48.3 | 321 | 22.3 | 112 |
| Menstrual health | ||||
| Felt nervous about coming to school because of their period | 25.8 | 120 | 6.8 | 44 |
| Missed class, teaching, or work because of their period | 27.7 | 119 | 13.6 | 44 |
| No clean and safe place to change menstrual materials | 28.3 | 120 | 22.7 | 44 |
| Difficult to dispose of menstrual materials privately | 18.3 | 120 | 20.5 | 44 |
| Did not have materials to absorb their period | 30.0 | 120 | 22.7 | 44 |
| Worried menstrual materials would not be available in an emergency | 27.5 | 120 | 20.5 | 44 |
| Unable to wash after changing menstrual materials | 30.0 | 120 | 25.0 | 44 |
| Waste management | ||||
| Thought classrooms or other indoor spaces were dirty | 51.6 | 322 | 61.3 | 111 |
| Thought the school grounds were dirty | 54.7 | 322 | 38.7 | 111 |
| Heavy rains or flooding disrupted school activities (past 12 months) (staff only) | – | – | 42.3 | 111 |
How to read this. Each dot is the share of respondents who said they had experienced the item (answering “sometimes” or “many times” rather than “never”), out of those who answered it. The grey bar shows the gap between students and school staff.
Item wording was adapted for each site and is shortened here; hover over a dot for the percentage and the number of respondents behind it. Menstrual health items were asked only of students and staff who menstruate. Values based on fewer than 30 respondents are not shown.
Students answered about the past week and school staff about the past four weeks.
These are preliminary descriptive results from the scale-development phase. They describe the participating schools only, are not representative of the country, and have not yet been peer reviewed.
Water
Sanitation
Hygiene
Menstrual healthAsked of students and staff who menstruate
Waste management
See the numbers for this site as a table
| Item | Students % | Students answering | Staff % | Staff answering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Worried there would not be enough safe drinking water | 84.1 | 208 | 87.5 | 48 |
| Drinking water tasted, looked, or smelled bad | 52.6 | 209 | 37.5 | 48 |
| Thought the drinking water could make them sick | 69.4 | 209 | 75.0 | 48 |
| Felt thirsty but had no safe water to drink | 77.4 | 208 | 55.3 | 47 |
| Could not concentrate because of thirst | 69.4 | 209 | 39.6 | 48 |
| Felt annoyed because of problems with water | 56.9 | 209 | 58.3 | 48 |
| Water supply was interrupted (staff only) | – | – | 77.1 | 48 |
| School activities were affected by water problems (staff only) | – | – | 20.8 | 48 |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Unable to use the toilet when needed | 58.9 | 209 | 43.8 | 48 |
| Thought the toilets were dirty | 77.5 | 209 | 47.9 | 48 |
| Worried they could be seen while using the toilet | 45.9 | 207 | 14.6 | 48 |
| Ate or drank less to avoid using the toilet | 50.7 | 207 | 31.2 | 48 |
| Needed the toilet but waited until they got home | 72.2 | 209 | 52.1 | 48 |
| Felt it was unsafe to go to the toilet | 45.2 | 208 | 25.0 | 48 |
| Not enough materials to clean themselves after using the toilet | 58.5 | 207 | 40.4 | 47 |
| Felt ashamed to use the toilet | 54.6 | 207 | 34.0 | 47 |
| Could not concentrate because they needed the toilet | 61.2 | 209 | 27.1 | 48 |
| School activities were affected by sanitation problems (staff only) | – | – | 27.1 | 48 |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Not enough water for washing hands | 83.3 | 209 | 31.2 | 48 |
| Not enough soap for washing hands | 67.0 | 209 | 77.1 | 48 |
| Unable to wash their hands when they wanted to | 69.4 | 209 | 50.0 | 48 |
| Menstrual health | ||||
| Felt nervous about coming to school because of their period | 83.8 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Missed class, teaching, or work because of their period | 21.6 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| No clean and safe place to change menstrual materials | 70.3 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Difficult to dispose of menstrual materials privately | 70.3 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Did not have materials to absorb their period | 59.5 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Worried menstrual materials would not be available in an emergency | 78.4 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Unable to wash after changing menstrual materials | 59.5 | 37 | not shown | 19 |
| Waste management | ||||
| Thought classrooms or other indoor spaces were dirty | 78.3 | 207 | 68.8 | 48 |
| Thought the school grounds were dirty | 80.4 | 209 | 74.5 | 47 |
| Heavy rains or flooding disrupted school activities (past 12 months) (staff only) | – | – | 97.9 | 48 |
How to read this. Each dot is the share of respondents who said they had experienced the item (answering “sometimes” or “many times” rather than “never”), out of those who answered it. The grey bar shows the gap between students and school staff.
Item wording was adapted for each site and is shortened here; hover over a dot for the percentage and the number of respondents behind it. Menstrual health items were asked only of students and staff who menstruate. Values based on fewer than 30 respondents are not shown.
Students answered about the past week and school staff about the past four weeks.
These are preliminary descriptive results from the scale-development phase. They describe the participating schools only, are not representative of the country, and have not yet been peer reviewed.
Water
Sanitation
Hygiene
Menstrual healthAsked of students and staff who menstruate
Waste management
See the numbers for this site as a table
| Item | Students % | Students answering | Staff % | Staff answering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ||||
| Worried there would not be enough safe drinking water | 59.2 | 611 | 54.9 | 162 |
| Drinking water tasted, looked, or smelled bad | 38.3 | 514 | 14.7 | 102 |
| Thought the drinking water could make them sick | 39.6 | 518 | 30.4 | 102 |
| Felt thirsty but had no safe water to drink | 69.2 | 611 | 50.6 | 162 |
| Could not concentrate because of thirst | 70.3 | 421 | 58.5 | 82 |
| Felt annoyed because of problems with water | 54.3 | 610 | 43.5 | 161 |
| Water supply was interrupted (staff only) | – | – | 47.8 | 161 |
| School activities were affected by water problems (staff only) | – | – | 34.6 | 162 |
| Sanitation | ||||
| Unable to use the toilet when needed | 48.4 | 612 | 14.8 | 162 |
| Thought the toilets were dirty | 88.6 | 612 | 39.1 | 161 |
| Thought the toilets smelled bad | 87.4 | 613 | 45.7 | 162 |
| Worried they could be seen while using the toilet | 42.4 | 613 | 18.6 | 161 |
| Ate or drank less to avoid using the toilet | 47.9 | 610 | 11.1 | 162 |
| Needed the toilet but waited until they got home | 37.6 | 609 | 33.3 | 162 |
| Felt it was unsafe to go to the toilet | 70.9 | 608 | 39.5 | 162 |
| Not enough materials to clean themselves after using the toilet | 64.3 | 611 | 31.5 | 162 |
| Felt ashamed to use the toilet | 33.8 | 612 | 22.2 | 162 |
| Could not concentrate because they needed the toilet | 54.0 | 611 | 25.3 | 162 |
| School activities were affected by sanitation problems (staff only) | – | – | 12.3 | 162 |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Not enough water for washing hands | 68.0 | 610 | 28.4 | 162 |
| Not enough soap for washing hands | 81.9 | 613 | 40.1 | 162 |
| Unable to wash their hands when they wanted to | 76.3 | 612 | 29.6 | 162 |
| Menstrual health | ||||
| Felt nervous about coming to school because of their period | 31.9 | 210 | 19.6 | 56 |
| Missed class, teaching, or work because of their period | 32.5 | 212 | 8.9 | 56 |
| No clean and safe place to change menstrual materials | 47.4 | 211 | 30.4 | 56 |
| Difficult to dispose of menstrual materials privately | 48.6 | 212 | 25.0 | 56 |
| Did not have materials to absorb their period | 39.8 | 211 | 26.8 | 56 |
| Worried menstrual materials would not be available in an emergency | 43.6 | 211 | 26.8 | 56 |
| Unable to wash after changing menstrual materials | 55.2 | 212 | 44.6 | 56 |
| Waste management | ||||
| Thought classrooms or other indoor spaces were dirty | 73.9 | 610 | 65.4 | 162 |
| Thought the school grounds were dirty | 67.8 | 609 | 54.3 | 162 |
| Heavy rains or flooding disrupted school activities (past 12 months) (staff only) | – | – | 63.0 | 162 |
How to read this. Each dot is the share of respondents who said they had experienced the item (answering “sometimes” or “many times” rather than “never”), out of those who answered it. The grey bar shows the gap between students and school staff.
Item wording was adapted for each site and is shortened here; hover over a dot for the percentage and the number of respondents behind it. Menstrual health items were asked only of students and staff who menstruate. Values based on fewer than 30 respondents are not shown.
Students answered about the past week and school staff about the past four weeks.
These are preliminary descriptive results from the scale-development phase. They describe the participating schools only, are not representative of the country, and have not yet been peer reviewed.
More analyses ahead
The core purpose of this project is to determine which items work well for assessing WASH insecurity within and across settings. Analyses are currently focused on which items are understood consistently across languages and settings, which items distinguish schools that differ in ways we can verify, and which items can be dropped without losing information. The final scale will be shorter than the instruments now being implemented.
Findings will be published in peer-reviewed papers and returned to participating schools and ministries as short reports. The site explorer above is a first, preliminary version of the interactive site profiles; it will be updated as more findings emerge.
Follow the work
Papers, presentations, and site reports are available on the Resources page.