Khalifa Farajat, now 25, is not the only one among his peers who has been suffering from a chronic kidney disease since school days. Back then, he avoided using the school's "filthy” toilets.
Anas al Rawashdeh, 22 years old, also suffers from Dysuria because he used to hold his urine in until he returned home.
Farajat and Rawashdeh were not aware of the severe health risks they were exposing themselves to. Both were both diagnosed with having chronic pyelonephritis; a urinary tract infection that reaches the kidney’s pelvis. According to experts, high concentrations of urine toxins in the body for long periods of time may cause bacterial infections in the pelvis and marrow of the kidney.
Physicians warn that badly maintained school toilets affect, not only children's health but also their ability to concentrate, and hence their academic standing.
Malak Odwan contracted Hepatitis A (HAV) in April when school toilets were not properly functioning. She was the fourth student to fall ill within a one-month period. Odwan, 9, is a third grader at Sleihi School in the Balqaa governorate, home to 280 other students.
Her mother sadly notes that the hygienic environment provided by Malak’s family at home did not protect her from becoming infected at school.
Lina Atiyyat, an eight grader at the Petra co-ed school in Amman, also became infected with HAV. None of her other family members were infected by the virus. Her mother explains that preventive measures were taken to keep them safe.
Furthermore, another virus spread among students at the Petra School within a time span of one month. Students Acil Khalaf, Mays Zaki, Louay Labib, and Baraa and Bayan Aboul Hoummous contracted chickenpox. Assistant School Director Hind al Kurdi explains that "the virus spread among them because they shared the same environment."
Al Kurdi, as well as the school health teacher Sawsan Mohammad Soleiman, say the infection was spread due to the limited number of toilets. Only three persons are employed to clean an entire school which has 18 toilets used by 1,459 boys and girls in the elementary and intermediate levels.
Ten to 14 HAV cases per week
According to the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health, 11,356 cases of chickenpox (varicella) were reported among school children in 2008. In addition, 464 cases of HAV and 13 cases of Hepatitis B (HBV).
Between the beginning of 2009 and mid-May, 298 cases of HAV were reported, in addition to dozens of dysuria and kidney infections.
About 10 to 14 new cases of HAV are been reported weekly, most of them among school children less than 15 years old.
In April 2008, the Health Department in Amman reported six cases of HAV among school children who attended the Manshiyat Hasban School. The first symptoms appeared in two brothers and their cousin.
In September 2008, four cases of HAV were diagnosed among students at Hasni Freiz School in the Balqaa governorate.
Recently, more than 300 cases of chickenpox were registered among young students between April and May at Karama School in Southern Shouna district-- approximately 30 km from Amman.
Most cases registered were among first-grade elementary students. According to the Department of Infectious Diseases, the advice doctors gave was that all children stay at home in order to stop the disease from spreading any further.
Interviews with school officials, as well as field visits to approximately 150 public schools for boys and girls in various regions of the Kingdom, revealed that the main causes of these outbreaks were the lack of cleanliness and the limited number of toilets. Officials and students also complained that toilets are not maintained or repaired.
An official report of the Department of School Health notes that 1,677 out of the 3,000 or so public schools in Jordan suffer from the lack of adequate facilities such as ventilated classrooms, hygienic sanitation and safe water supply.
The 2007 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) conducted among Jordanian students aged between 13 and 15, showed that 1 in every 3 students did not have access to safe drinking water at school. It also demonstrated that 2 in 3 students used non-hygienic toilets.
Exchange of accusations
A Ministry of Health (MoH) official, who prefers to remain anonymous, emphasizes that the School Health Department regularly carries out health checks on students attending public schools and examines water deposits and sanitation. The department prepares the School Environment Report that is reviewed by the Ministry of Education (MoE) officials, who then decide what measures to take.
This MoH official is very critical of the MoE because it deploys modest efforts to remedy the problems reported by MoH..
Everyone’s responsibility
Mohammad al Akour, Director of Public Education at the MoE refutes these accusations, stressing that the ministry takes every report seriously and coordinates, when necessary, with the relevant departments.
Al Akour explains that the maintenance of hygienic conditions is the responsibility of students’, parents, the MoE and MoH. However, the role of the MoE, should be limited to promoting awareness among students in order to encourage them to practice hygienic habits and prevent contamination. He adds that 4,500 copies of a hygiene manual have been distributed for this purpose.
Al Akour admits that some infectious diseases are spread among students inside schools, but stresses that all cases are referred to the Health Center for Treatment.
Health and educational supervisors report health incidents at schools, and when an infectious disease is diagnosed, the school principal informs the MoE, al Akour explained.
"An infectious disease can easily spread among students especially those under 15 years old," he says, “because they are not aware of preventive measures.”
He confirms that at least two toilet cleaners are appointed for every school, but when one of them is absent for emergency reasons, hygienic conditions become critical.
Only 8,594 toilet cleaners are appointed to serve 5,324 schools with a total enrollment of 1.200,000 students, according to an official at the MoE. This means that there is one toilet cleaner per 1,396 students.
The official admits that the situation is not satisfactory in some schools. He also states that “girls’ toilets are cleaner than boys' toilets.”However, MoE’s officials maintain that “sanitation facilities at schools are adequate.”
Mansour al Abbadi, the director of school buildings at the MoE, points out that there are no "bad" sanitation facilities at any school in the kingdom. He says all units are adequate -- despite the fact that some of them were built more than 50 years ago. |
