page_title: Public toilet
section_title: Schools
hierarchical_section_title: Public toilet / Toilets in particular locations / Schools
caption_attribution_description: English: Burundi - Sanitation in Cankuzo / Assainissement à Cankuzo
context_page_description: A public toilet is a room or small building with toilets and sinks that does not belong to a particular household. Rather, the toilet is available for use by the general public, customers, travellers, employees of a business, school pupils, prisoners etc. Public toilets are commonly separated into male and female facilities, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets. Increasingly, public toilets are accessible to people with disabilities. Public toilets are known by many other names depending on the country. Examples are: restroom, bathroom, men's room, women's room in the US, washroom in Canada, and toilets, lavatories, water closet, ladies and gents in Europe. In some parts of the world, they are referred to as the loo.
  Some public toilets are free of charge while others charge a fee. In the latter case they are also called pay toilets and sometimes have a charging turnstile.
  Local authorities or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an attendant.
context_section_description: Lack of adequate school toilets is a very serious problem in many developing countries, and contributes to many problems from poor child health to school drop out. Many pit latrines are not adequately built for young children, which has resulted in the tragic consequence of children dying by falling inside the hole. Globally, about 620 million children do not have adequate toilets at school and around 900 million cannot wash their hands properly; and almost half of the schools do not provide soap.
  The situation of inadequate school toilets violates the children's right to education  and to right to water and sanitation. Such situations are common in many parts of the world, especially in Africa and South Asia, but also in other regions. For example, in the Caucasus and Central Asia, 30% of schools do not provide adequate toilets and 37%  of schools do not have access to adequate water supplies. The presence of soap and toilet paper is very important, but is largely non-existent in many regions. Missing or inadequate doors and partitioning are observed in both high- and low-income countries, which can affect the children's self-esteem, especially around puberty; in the case of girls, lack of menstrual hygiene management and privacy (such as the availability of functional toilet doors with locks, disposal facilities and menstrual hygiene products in schools, lack of soap and toilet paper) can severely impact upon their well-being and is considered a form of violation of girl's rights.
  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded several research projects for provision of community, shared or school toilets in developing countries since 2011 when they launched their "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge".
caption: School toilet in Burundi
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