TOGO: Tackling COVID-19 in 51 Dankpen Schools

As of 6 December 2020, Togo had 3,095 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 65 deaths. Initially, the government took steps to reduce transmission of the virus, including by closing schools.

However, on 15 June, schools were reopened to allow students to take end-of-year exams. The Ministry of Education proposed a number of precautions including:

• training teachers on COVID-19 protection measures
• subsidising the price of masks in order to allow teachers and pupils to wear them systematically
• installing handwashing stations in all schools on primary and pre-school allowances, and on rebates to secondary schools
• distributing sanitizer in all schools
• requiring that students sit 2 per bench in order to respect physical distancing

The crisis

A month and a half after the start of the school year, there were not enough masks for the children to reuse them in a hygienic manner, despite subsidies provided to purchase them.

School-based handwashing stations were at risk of contamination because students have to touch the faucet to wash. In addition, most schools lacked enough soap and water.

Finally, schools did not have sufficient benches to respect the physical distancing requirement.

As a result, schoolchildren, teachers, administrators and parents continued to be exposed to the virus through transmission in overcrowded and poorly ventilated classrooms.

This posed a direct threat to children and their their families, as well as to their education, as children missed classes due to illness, quarantine or to care for sick family members.

The continued spread also threatened to exacerbate the insufficient livelihoods that drive children to drop out of school in search of work to support their household.

The challenges

However, the response was not without challenges, including:

1. Poor use of liquid soap by students who confuse the water pedal with soap pedal.

Solution: Continue to educate students about the use of the handwashing device.

2. Mishandling of handwashing devices and water tank.

Solution: Accompany smaller students to ensure proper use.

3. The drinking of water supply in communities where there are no boreholes.

Solution: Involve parents in the search for water for water tank.

4. Long queues for handwashing stations in some high-staffed schools.

Solution: Distribute handwashing devices by class.

5. Some water tanks exposed to the sun.

Solution: Find a safe place to shelter the water tank.

6. Inability to display large posters in schools that do not have buildings.

Solution: Use the woods to hang large posters and raise them at all times.

7. Some handwashing devices badly shaken in transport due to road conditions.

Solution: Encourage school steering committee members to repair defective devices.