Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene November - December 2016 vol.11 No.6 | Page 41

Publications Achim Steiner Former United Nations Under-SecretaryGeneral and Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme Scaling up group handwashing in schools Compendium of group washing facilities across the globe Published in: 2016 Pages: 88 Publisher: New York, USA; Eschborn, Germany Author: UNICEF, GIZ Handwashing with soap is among the most effective hygiene behaviours helping to prevent infectious diseases. The importance of daily group handwashing has been recognized and integrated into the UNICEF/GIZ Three Star Approach (TSA) to WASH in Schools (WinS), which has gained momentum around the world. With its focus o usable, cost-efficient and adequate infrastructure, the TSA provides a realistic stepwise concept to improve WinS infrastructure. It also creates opportunities for schools, school communities and decision makers in the education and other relevant sectors to establish a healthy learning environment for children to practice good hygiene behaviour in the school setting. To enable group handwashing in schools a variety of facilities have been built in different contexts around the globe. The “Compendium of Group Washing Facilities around the Globe” (UNICEF-BMZ-GIZ) comprises such examples from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Philippines, Tanzania and Zambia. Presented designs include the entire span of possible existing facilities reflecting different circumstances, necessities and resources of school communities. Key features and characteristics of each facility are summarized in tables providing information about the design structure, as well as aspects of construction, installation, operation and maintenance, usability, and the opportunity of community involvement. A section on advantages, limitations and recommendations summarizes key aspects for prospective users. A simplified isometric drawing displays main elements of the facility and a Bill of Quantity details different materials and estimated costs of each facility. The Compendium of Group Washing Facilities aims to inform and inspire WASH practitioners, schools and their communities to strengthen healthy practices and ensure a healthy learning environment for children. The State of the World’s Children 2016: A fair chance for every child Author: UNICEF Price: Free No. of pages: 180 Publication date: June 2016 Publisher: UNICEF Every child has the right to health, education and protection, and every society has a stake in expanding children’s opportunities in life. Yet, around the world, millions of children are denied a fair chance for no reason other than the country, gender or circumstances into which they are born. The State of the World’s Children 2016 argues that progress for the most disadvantaged children is not only a moral, but also a strategic imperative. Stakeholders have a clear choice to make: invest in accelerated progress for the children being left behind, or face the consequences of a far more divided world by 2030. At the start of a new development agenda, the report concludes with a set of recommendations to help chart the course towards a more equitable world. The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus Challenges and an agenda for action Global trends of population growth, rising living standards and the rapidly increasing urbanized world are increasing the demand on water, food and energy. Added to this is the growing threat of climate change which will have huge impacts on water and food availability. It is increasingly clear that there is no place in an interlinked world for isolated solutions aimed at just one sector. In recent years the “nexus” has emerged as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of resources and is now a key feature of policy-making. This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview of both the science behind the nexus and the implications for policies and sustainable development. It brings together contributions by leading intergovernmental and governmental officials, industry, scientists and other stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop the approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in 2015. With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2016 39