Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze Secondary School Toilet Project – Kyrgyzstan
Location: Kyrgyz Republic (aka Kyrgyzstan)
This project involves the new construction of a 14-seat sewered toilet block at No. 24 Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze Secondary School (the “school”), located at 71 Osh St., Osh, Kyrgyz Republic 714000. The K–11 school serves children ranging in age from 4 to 17. The school’s simple dry pit latrine facility was built in 1989.
The non sewered, 100 square meter detached building consists of a brick superstructure, concrete slab roof, concrete floor/cover slab, 28 drop-holes, and a concrete block-lined pit. The existing simple pit latrine has irremediable, below grade design deficiencies that endanger life safety and public health. The facility is a life-safety hazard due to cesspit design and deferred maintenance from a lack of local government funds. An engineering report was prepared for the school by A.V. Tsoi, Engineer for the inspection of buildings and structures (State qualification certificate PR-8.2 No. 022622). The report includes the following key finding: “From the point of view of safety of operation of the facility, the most dangerous violation is the lack of ventilation from the cesspool, which can lead to the accumulation of explosive gases in the pit.” The pit does not have a hatch for the emptying and disposal of waste, or direct, vertical exhaust vent pipes. High concentration of biogas in the cesspit including flammable methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) due to inadequate venting of the pit substructure is a combustion hazard.
The in-service toilet block is a source of excreta-related diseases including diarrhea, respiratory infection, intestinal worms, and viral hepatitis. The cumulative incidence or risk of students contracting one of these infections during the 2017-2018 school year was 10.7%. Chronic exposure to fecal-oral pathogens and recurrent infection in students leads to childhood health risks. Upgrading the school’s latrine facility to an off-site system connected to sewerage can eliminate a life safety hazard, prevent the spread of infectious disease, stop the cycle of diarrhea, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency that leads to immunocompromised and infection, growth faltering and cognitive deficits, and reduce the health burden of sanitation-related cost of illness to families.
Replacing the thirty-year-old latrine facility will reduce the infection burden on students, teachers and their families, control odor and fly vectors, disrupt the exposure pathway of fecal oral pathogens from the outdoor latrine to the inside of the school, eliminate a point source of groundwater pollution, and provide users with privacy, safety, and dignity. A facility for safe disposal of fecal waste is the first link in the sanitation chain. Building a new latrine block at the school will reduce the incidence of community-acquired diarrheal disease which is a common contributor to malnutrition. Children at the school are caught in a cycle of diarrhea, malnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency. Iron, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies caused by catabolism of nutrient stores, malabsorption, and endogenous fecal loss during frequent diarrhea episodes leads to low height-for-age, reduced catch-up growth because of shorter infection-free intervals, impaired cognitive development, and increased susceptibility to preventable diseases like acute respiratory infection (ARI).
The two most prevalent STHs among school children in Osh city are roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis). STHs are transmitted from person to person via the fecal-oral route by ingestion of worm eggs. Worm infection is associated with vitamin A and iron deficiencies, impaired physical and mental development, cognitive deficits, and increased school absenteeism. According to the World Health Organization’s “Deworming for Health and Development: Report of the third global meeting of the partners for parasite control,” the average IQ loss per worm infection is 3.75 points (2005, p. 15). A new latrine connected to sewerage can reduce the likelihood of STH infection by 67 percent. Better sanitation at the school through the provision of new toilet infrastructure will reduce the incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. Nine (9) students were infected with HAV during the 2017-2018 school year. HAV is transmitted from person to person by the fecal-oral route through direct contact with HAV carriers and contaminated surfaces.
The estimated average total family cost per diarrheal episode requiring medical treatment in Kyrgyzstan is $55.97. A low-end average number of diarrhea episodes per child per year is 3. Because of the high cost of diarrhea treatment relative to income, households with two or more children under five years of age are less likely to seek care, or are forced to use their savings or reduce expenditures on basic necessities to pay for the direct cost of sanitation-related illness. Replacing the existing onsite sanitation facility can reduce the economic burden of infection on families by eliminating the environmental source of excreta diseases at the school.
The latrine is a point source of local groundwater contamination. According to the engineering report, the pit is water permeable and liquid waste is penetrating into the local groundwater. The engineer’s conclusion from visual inspection of the soft consistency of the pit sludge is that the liquid component of the feces (urine) is constantly infiltrating into the underlying soil. This hydraulic load transports pathogens and nitrate to groundwater drinking sources. The minimum safe distance between a pit latrine and the nearest groundwater source is 10 meters. The existing latrine building is located at an unsafe distance (6.5 m) from nearby homes and private wells. Poor containment of fecal was
Direct beneficiaries of the project are 747 students, including 60 children five years of age and under who are at increased risk of sanitation-related illness, and 52 teachers at the school. Indirect beneficiaries of the project are the 800 families of students and teachers, especially those with non-school going children in the household, through decreased secondary disease transmission from the school to the home environment and reduced cost of illness. Access to adequate sanitation is a basic human right. The project supports United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/292 (On the Right to Water and Sanitation, 28 July 2010) recognizing sanitation as a basic human right, and articles 24(1c) on combating disease and malnutrition and 24(e) on access to education, hygiene and sanitation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (20 November 1989). The project also directly addresses: Sustainable Development Goal 3, target 3.3 on ending neglected tropical diseases and combating hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases; Sustainable Development Goal 4, target 4.5 on eliminating gender disparities in education and means of implementation 4.a on building and upgrading education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments; Sustainable Development Goal 5, target 5.1 on ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls; and Sustainable Development Goal 6, target 6.2 on achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and means of implementation 6.b on supporting and strengthening the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.
At this point we are hoping that donors will step up and contribute the remainder of the funds to get this project underway. Unlike our normal Water Charity projects that are pre-funded out of pocket and run by Water Charity volunteers, this project must be fully funded before it can start. Please use the donate button below and note that your funds are for this project in Kyrgyzstan. We may create a Flipcause page for more engaging interaction with donors as well. If that happens, you will find that link and widget below.