We are deeply saddened and alarmed by the enduring escalation of violence, persisting for the past two months and still worsening. Our hearts go out to those who are mourning the loss of loved ones, the many recovering from injuries, and the hundreds of thousands living in profound fear, facing immense uncertainty and hardship. We call for an immediate ceasefire, safe humanitarian access and the exploration of peaceful resolutions to restore safety for all.

Further strengthening the local monitoring skills

Based on the request from the Ministry of Education (MoE) of Palestine, hands4health conducted a training for the 17 health directorates of the West Bank on the importance of free residual chlorine measurement in schools. The workshop took place on August 8th, 2023 in Ramallah and was implemented by FHNW and Cesvi. In total, representatives from 16 health directorates were present.

Training scope

The workshop was designed in a hands-on format, which mixed both practical and theoretical components. The following topics were addressed:

  • Importance of chlorination and free residual chlorine (FRC) measurement at point of use in schools, as stipulated by the MoE guidelines for “Water and Hygiene in Palestinian schools”.
  • Practical exercise on how to measure free residual chlorine concentrations using the devices recommended by the MoE.
  • Practical exercise on the use of mobile phones with the KoboToolbox questionnaires for uploading the information on a centralised platform.
  • Demonstration of a possible dashboard for data visualisation and interpretation.
  • Taking action: In case of FRC levels below the MoE recommended value of 0.2 mg/L, bacteriological testing is carried out by the Ministry of Health, to understand bacteriological contamination and add additional chlorine therefore ensuring safe drinking water at point of consumption.
©FHNW / Cesvi – Snapshots of the workshop held by hands4health on chlorine monitoring in schools, which gathered representatives from sixteen health directorates of the West Bank in Palestine.

Next steps

  • The MoE expressed its interest to scale free residual chlorine monitoring to other schools and the entire Westbank.
  • The Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU) will be carrying out research at lab scale to assess options for potential water chlorination to increase FRC levels in schools.