Bali, Indonesia – Last 17 September 2018, the GIZ Regional Fit for School Programme entered into a Cooperation Agreement with the Regional Center for Food and Nutrition of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO RECFON) to strengthen the capacities of education stakeholders in delivering WASH in schools through a convergence with school nutrition programming, particularly hygiene in school feeding. The agreement was signed during the SEAMEO RECFON Governing Board Meeting by RECFON Director Dr. Muchtaruddin Mansyur, together with Dr. Ramon C. Bacani, Director of the SEAMEO Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH) and Ms. Nicole Siegmund, GIZ, Principal Advisor of the Regional Fit for School Programme. The scope of the collaboration will involve the development of a replicable and scalable implementation model for WASH-Nutrition convergence in schools, and the provision of advocacy, policy support, and capacity development to government stakeholders in delivering school WASH-nutrition programs

Through the provision of technical assistance and institutional strengthening, research, capacity development measures and regional knowledge management and learning exchanges, the Regional Fit for School Programme has been supporting government-driven scale-up of WASH in Schools programs in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, and the Philippines to reach more learners while incrementally improving implementation quality. For the third phase in Indonesia, envisioned for December 2018 to May 2020, SEAMEO RECFON has been identified as a strategic partner for delivering capacity building from the national level for WASH in Schools, in recognition of their contribution to national school feeding programs.