President Johnson Sirleaf and Oxfam call for $60m Liberia school upgrade

Opportunity to leave Liberia’s children with a post-Ebola legacy

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and international agency Oxfam today called on donors and others to join forces to support the government’s $60 million appeal to upgrade Liberian schools with water and sanitation facilities as thousands of children across the country return to school for the first time in six months. 

The international agency has been invited by the President to co-host a briefing for governments and donors on the issue and will pay its part, along with many other organizations, in efforts to improve water and sanitation in schools. 

The call comes on the day leaders of the affected countries and senior figures from the UN, African Union and EU gather at the 'High-Level Ebola Conference' at Egmont Palace in Brussels to discuss action to finally eliminate the disease, as well as major recovery needs. 

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said: 

"As thousands of schools in Liberia reopen their doors post-Ebola, it is clear that the lack of clean water, hand washing and sanitation facilities are major stumbling blocks in helping our children develop life-changing habits which will enhance their health for the long term. 
  
“Investment in water and sanitation is critical to help guard against future outbreaks of Ebola and other infectious diseases. 
  
“I am pleased to be working with Oxfam and other partners to make our schools safe by providing clean learning environments where they can succeed."

Liberia’s schools are in a parlous state. More than half of the country’s 4,600 schools have no water supply and 43 percent of schools lack working toilets. Even where there is some sort of facility, on average one toilet is shared by more than 100 pupils. With nearly 60 percent of children never going to school, Liberia has the second worse figures in the world for the percentage of children not in education, after Eritrea. 

New analysis by the Government of Liberia, Oxfam, UNICEF and others estimates that providing water and sanitation for 2,800 of the most needy Liberian schools without these basic facilities would cost approximately $60m over the next two years. 

Oxfam GB’s chief executive Mark Goldring said: 

“Ebola is not over and we must continue to ensure we eliminate this deadly disease. We also have to prepare for a post-Ebola future. Communities have told us their most pressing concern is sending their children back to school. This appeal for water and sanitation in all schools will help boost Liberia’s educational performance and be a lasting post-Ebola legacy to its children. 

“The recovery process for affected countries is a chance not just to rebuild but to improve essential services, reduce inequality and accelerate their long-term development, helping to ensure Ebola outbreaks like this never happen again.” 

In focus group discussions carried out by Oxfam in early February in three townships hit hard by Ebola in Liberia's Montserrado County, getting children back into education was the priority issue consistently raised by parents, in particular concerns about affordability of fees and threat of disease in schools. Their other two main pressing issues were being free of the threat of Ebola and to start earning a living. 

Liberia’s children have been deprived of education since August due to the Ebola outbreak. While some schools reopened on 16 February, the majority opened their doors yesterday. Though Liberia last week reopened borders and lifted a curfew it remains vulnerable to possible cross border infections from Guinea and Sierra Leone until the region reaches zero cases. Even as recovery gets underway, continued urgency and focus on responding and preventing Ebola is critical. 

Water and sanitation has been found to improve children’s learning, as healthy students in healthy environments learn more effectively. Nutrition deficiencies, diarrhoea and worm infestations related to poor sanitation and unhygienic conditions all affect school participation and learning. Decent sanitation facilities also increase school attendance and for adolescent girls in particular have been shown to reduce truancy, absenteeism and dropout rates. 

Studies show that if good hygiene habits are learned at school, children can promote improved practices within their families and communities, helping to reduce disease.

Water and sanitation is also a sound investment. On average every $1 invested in water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa brings a $2.5 return, according to the World Health Organization.