In our study we assessed the water and sanitation facilities at primary schools in a rural town in Malawi to see how disability friendly they were.
Malawi has several policies that ensure that people with disabilities have access to water and sanitation.
This was particularly problematic for children who had physical impairments and needed to place their hands on the ground in order to access the pit latrine.
In addition, we found that some of the pit latrines were up to 114 metres away from the classrooms.
The latrine doors were less than 1 metre wide so wheelchairs could not access them.
National guidelines In our interviews with the pupils they raised cost effective solutions that could make the existing school infrastructure friendlier.
It also shows that special education teachers need to be trained on ways to make infrastructure at schools more disability friendly.
Malawi could look to countries like South Africa where a national guideline was developed in 2008 to allow people with disabilities to access toilets easier.
The situation in Malawi is likely to be consistent across other neighbouring countries.
Disability support UNICEF Malawi Malawian health Water access