About 61 percent of the students in the school have access to water and soap and are unable to use the improved and usable toilets. Meanwhile, 22 percent of schools have arrangements for removing sanitary pads for girls. In addition, 32 percent of chefs do not wash their hands while working in restaurants.
This information was found in the report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) 'National Hygiene Survey 2018' yesterday. The survey was jointly conducted by BBS, UNICEF Bangladesh and WaterAid.
The report of National Hygiene Survey 2018 presents the results obtained from data collected from five different fields. These areas include households, schools, healthcare providers, restaurants and sidewalk food vendors. In these cases, the progress of SDG health related indicators, five year plan, Vision 2021 and Vision 2041 etc. were monitored. Muhammad Yamin Chowdhury, secretary of the statistics and information management department of the planning ministry, said the results of the survey would play an important role in adopting evidence-based programs and formulating effective policies in the wash sector. He expressed satisfaction over the data obtained from the survey on the SDG Index 6.2.1 ‘Proportion of the population using safe management sanitation services including hand washing facilities with soap and water’.
In the report, 40 percent of respondents said they knew they needed to wash their hands with soap and water before eating. 36 percent of adolescents knew about menstruation before their first menstrual period. 43% of adolescents and 29% of adult women use disposable pads during their menstrual period. 30 percent are teenagers
That said, they had refrained from going to school during their menstrual period for the last six months and had been absent from school for an average of two and a half days. On the other hand, 36 percent of adolescents said that they have received menstrual health education from school.
The report highlights the sanitation facilities and environmental hygiene (hygiene) in the restaurant and health sector, as well as the hygiene practices of food vendors and service providers. According to the report, 68 percent of chefs mention washing their hands while working in restaurants.
Hasin Jahan, Country Director of WaterAid, said, "In light of the situation in Corona, we need to redouble our efforts to adhere to the rules of hygiene.
Tushar Mohan Sadhu Khan, Additional Chief Engineer (Planning), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) was the special guest at the function presided over by Director General, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Mohammad Tajul Islam. The main results of the survey highlighted the director of the Demography and Health Wing of BBS. Masud Alam.
