Wash Practices in Schools, Cameroon

This study investigated the influence of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) management on the bacteriological quality of students’ palms in some schools within the Bamenda municipality, to serve as baseline data for strengthening of hygiene management and health policies in schools. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional approach with data generated through questionnaires, swabbing of the palms of selected students and doorknobs, as well as culturing of the swabs for microbial identification. SPSS version 16.0 was used for data analysis and Chi-square test to determine significant differences in the level of bacteria on the palms of participants by gender. None of the schools met WHO standards, and the gap between toilet usage and hand washing after defecation was very significant (p < 0.0001). Bacteria isolated included: Staphylococcus spp (63%), Escherichia coli (31%), Enterobacter sp (10%), Bacillus sp (10%), and Coliforms (5%). Two Fungi species: Yeast (10%) and Moulds (3%) were also isolated. The content of the curriculum, teaching and assessment mechanism for the WaSH programme management in schools was found to be in need of greater attention, schools and local governments focus on it being below expectation.