To improve water, sanitation and waste management in Romania, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the risk management tool “Water and Sanitation Safety Planning” (WSSP) is introduced and thematically extended through various interactive educational measures in schools – including the topics of menstruation and (micro-)plastics. The educational materials are published in Compendia as well as in the online educational platform “Water Classroom” in the respective national languages and are freely accessible. Educational materials at the academic level are developed in cooperation with universities for study programmes relevant to the topic. To improve gender equality, situation analyses on menstrual poverty and gender equality in WASH (water, sanitation & hygiene) facilities and professions are prepared. Recommendations for action will then be developed. This will be accompanied by campaigns for the free provision of menstrual products in public buildings and schools as well as against fiscal discrimination in menstrual products. The aim is to establish a gender-equitable WASH situation in the project countries on a long-term and sustainable basis.

For Environmental Ambassadors this is a continuation of the project successfully finalized with the very important active participation of the Eco-schools network in Serbia.

Kick-off meeting, Sarajevo May 18 and 19, 2023 – Project WSSP

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and more about project…..

In the project countries Romania, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a lack of sustainable water, sanitation, wastewater, and waste management in rural areas, which can have serious consequences for the environment and health of the population. The aim of WECF and the local partner organizations is to further develop or introduce the “Water and Sanitation Safety Planning” (WSSP) instrument in the target countries. WSSP shows methods for risk management for water and sanitation and explains measures to minimize risks and improve the water and sanitation situation.

The online educational portals “Water Classroom” developed in the previous project, on which interactive educational materials on the topics of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and WSSP are already freely available in Romanian and Macedonian, will be translated into Albanian and Serbian and made freely accessible online. In various educational measures, WECF’s WSSP compendium is introduced to Bosnian-Herzegovinian, Serbian and Albanian teachers, pupils and various stakeholders from administration, politics and institutions. In North Macedonia, children with disabilities are included in the educational activities, for which the teaching materials are adapted. In collaboration with North Macedonian and Albanian universities, educational material on an academic level will be developed. Interactive and playful educational materials on microplastics will be developed and used in additional educational activities. Some of the materials will be digitized and included in the “water classrooms”. Menstrual Health Management (MHM) will be a broad focus of the educational activities. In addition, the project partners will prepare a cost-benefit analysis of menstrual products and conduct a survey on menstrual poverty. Subsequently, a campaign will call for the provision of free menstrual products in schools and public buildings. The North Macedonian partners work with gender organizations against gender-specific tax discrimination, e.g. in menstrual products. To analyse gender equality in the WASH sector, data collection takes place in various project countries, on the basis of which recommendations for action are subsequently developed.

Environmental Ambassadors will continue to work with the Eco-schools network in Serbia to raise teachers capacities to deal with the topics Water+Sanitation+Hygiene, in order to be more strengthen to focus the attention of decision-makers, at the local and national levels, on these topics, especially in rural areas.