Poverty in Cambodia

The following is an extract from the article

'Stressing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Children in Developing Countries.'

By Christina Maria Paschyn, Pulitzer Center, Washington, D.C

Retrieved from:

http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/stressing-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-children-developing-countries

Experts and advocates from humanitarian organizations stressed the need to provide adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and instruction for school children in the developing world at a congressional briefing yesterday.Two out of three schools in the developing world lack decent toilets, according to UNICEF. The World Health Organization estimates that 272 million school days are lost each year due to diarrhea and some 400 million school-aged children worldwide have worms.

Young, a senior basic education advisor for Plan, explained how water, sanitation and hygiene facilities (such as latrines and hand washing stations) are vital in schools for increasing classroom attendance and learning.

"Those children who are able to stay in school and are able to be healthy when they are in school, they are able to pay attention more in their classrooms," she said. "We know it's also vital for their parents and their families and for their caregivers because these children, from what they learn, they take these messages to others in their communities and share those messages and help them to develop good practices."

The following video highlights the poverty that the majority of Cambodian families endure.