KABUL, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Finland has contributed 2 million euro (around 2.4 million U.S. dollars) to a UNICEF program to provide Afghan children and families with safe water, sanitation and hygiene, said a statement Thursday.
"The flexible grant is part of Finland's continued commitment to Afghanistan and follows a previous grant of similar size that provided gender-separated toilets, handwashing facilities and menstrual hygiene management that benefited almost 55,000 students in 102 schools," said the statement issued by UNICEF, or the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund here.
"Improvements in water and sanitation facilities in schools have a positive impact on attendance, quality of learning and well-being of students, especially girls," the statement read.
"We are happy to continue supporting the UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene programme that provides concrete results for women and children in line with National Priorities." Hannu Ripatti, ambassador of Finland to Afghanistan, was quoted in the statement as saying.
"Through encouraging handwashing with soap in schools, and the use of clean water and sanitary environments, we can help to prevent diarrhea and the subsequent onset or worsening of stunting and malnutrition," Adele Khodr, UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, said in the statement.
Washing hands with soap can reduce diarrhea by up to 42 percent and is one of the most cost effective ways to prevent cases, Khodr noted.
More than 9.5 million Afghan children with around 40 percent of them girls attend 15,000 schools across the country while over 3.5 million school age children have no access to education due to poverty, conflicts and insurgency, according to education officials.
