3rd African WinS International Learning Exchange

We are pleased to announce the third African WASH in Schools (WinS) International Learning Exchange (ILE) 2025! 

It will take place from 11th–14th November 2025 in Gqeberha, South Africa, hosted by the National Department of Basic Education, and it will be an opportunity to bring together WASH in Schools actors across the two regions of East and Southern Africa and West and Central Africa, with invited global partners. 

Ideally, international learning exchanges comprise country delegations made up of ministries of Education, Health, line WASH ministries, and national experts. Delegations exchange with one another, as well as with technical experts and resource persons from various organizations and fields. 

The overall goal is to explore how WASH in Schools can be further enhanced for scale and sustainability in the coming years, building on the results and recommendations from the previous African WinS ILEs. 

The Event Aims To: 

• Facilitate learning among country delegations made up of Ministries of Education, WASH line ministries, and development partners on WASH in Schools among countries in Africa towards reaching SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) 4.
• Generate momentum and political commitment towards accelerating progress on WASH in Schools using frameworks for reporting such as the Enabling Environment Matrix, and monitoring progress from the previous ILEs in 2023 and 2024.
• Strengthen the regional network of ministries of education, health, and water, and WinS practitioners. 

Over Four Days, Participants Will Be Able To: 

• Exchange experiences, including institutional benchmarking, plans, and challenges related to WASH in Schools.
• Reflect and create learning opportunities on specific thematic areas of WASH in Schools (such as Climate-resilience, Finance, Hand Hygiene, Health, and Wellbeing).
• Identify further capacity-building needs, resources, and technical support required to incorporate novel approaches to WASH in Schools programming in participants’ respective countries. 

The Planned Conference Schedule Is: 

Day 0: Arrival of the participants

Meet and Greet in the Evening at 7:30 pm

Day 1: Opening and setting the scene

07:00-8:00      Breakfast

08:00-08:30    Check-In at the venue (Feather Market Centre)

08:45-09:15      Welcome Speeches

• Minister of Basic Education (Ms. Siviwe Gwarube)
• Deputy Country Representative UNICEF (Irfan Akthar)
• GIZ Country Director (Thomas Schaef) 

09:15- 09:45      Keynote by Ms. Sophia Ashipala (Head of the Education Division at the African Union Commission)

09:45-10:00      Group Picture

10:00-10:30      Coffee Break

10:30-10:45       House rules and security

10:45-11:00       Conference overview and conference objectives

11:00-12:00       Setting the scene:

• Status of WASH in Schools (WinS): Taking stock of progress and challenges five years before the conclusion of the SDG era.
• Presentation of UNICEF’s Climate-Resilient WinS Framework alongside the WinS Acceleration Framework
• Reflecting on Progress: Assessing achievements and gaps with the Enabling Environment Matrixes shared by countries.  

12:00-13:00      Lunch Break

13:00-14:30    Thematic Session on Finance and Funding/Investment modalities

14:30-15:00      Coffee Break    

15:00-16:30    Thematic Session on WinS Governance, Leadership and National Prioritization of WinS

16:40-17:20    Special Session on a Global Shared Agenda for Action for Menstrual Health and Hygiene

 18:00                Dinner                           

Day 2:  Experience Sharing

08:30-08:45        Welcome Back, Recap Day 1, Outlook Day 2

08:45-10:45         Track 1

• Making WinS Count: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research
• The Cost of WinS: Sustaining WASH Services in Schools
• Healthy, safe and sustainable schools

10:45-11:00           Coffee Break

11:00-13:00           Track 2

• Making WinS Count: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research
• The Cost of WinS: Sustaining WASH Services in Schools
• Healthy, safe and sustainable schools

13:00-14:00           Lunch Break

14:00-16:00           Country Dialogues

16:00-16:15            Coffee Break

16:15-17:00            Preparation for field work - Briefing on objectives, schedule, logistics, assignments for participants

18:00                       Cultural Night

Day 3: School Visits

Note: School visits in 4 separate groups

07:30-09:00          Travel to 1st School

09:00-10:30           School Visit 1: Observation of activities, facilities, and M&E system, Discussion with school community

10:30-11:00             Departure to 2nd School

11:00-12:30             School Visit 2: Observation of activities, facilities, and M&E system, Discussion with school community   

13:00-14:00            Lunch Break

14:00-15:00            Processing and discussing what was seen in the field visits with officials

15:00-16:30            Travel back to the Hotel

18:00                        Dinner

Day 4: Closing

08:30-09:00         Recap of Day 3  (Debriefing of the School Visits)

09:00-09:45         Country Planning

                                        Country teams work on their take-home actions

                                        Share and discuss outcomes of country teamwork

09:45-10:00          Coffee Break

10:00-11:00           Discussion and finalization of the Outcome Document

11:00-12:00           Closing Ceremony

12:00- 13:00          Lunch