On WaterCouch.tv, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp shares a practical example of international water cooperation that emerged during the 2013 World Water Day celebrations in The Hague, The Netherlands. In one of the sessions, BRAC WASH programme director Dr Babar Kabir explained that his programme had trained 18,000 imams in Bangladesh to include hygiene messages in their Friday prayers (see Kabir, 2010).
Posted in Bangladesh, Hygiene promotion, India
Tagged All India Organization of Imams of Mosques, BRAC, imams
The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 8 February 2012
The effect of cord cleansing with chlorhexidine on neonatal mortality in rural Bangladesh: a community-based, cluster-randomised trial
Shams El Arifeen DrPH, et al.
Background – Up to half of neonatal deaths in high mortality settings are due to infections, many of which can originate through the freshly cut umbilical cord stump. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of two cord-cleansing regimens with the promotion of dry cord care in the prevention of neonatal mortality.
Design – We did a community-based, parallel cluster-randomised trial in Sylhet, Bangladesh. We divided the study area into 133 clusters, which were randomly assigned to one of the two chlorhexidine cleansing regimens (single cleansing as soon as possible after birth; daily cleansing for 7 days after birth) or promotion of dry cord care. Randomisation was done by use of a computer-generated sequence, stratified by cluster-specific participation in a previous trial. All livebirths were eligible; those visited within 7 days by a local female village health worker trained to deliver the cord care intervention were enrolled. We did not mask study workers and participants to the study interventions. Our primary outcome was neonatal mortality (within 28 days of birth) per 1000 livebirths, which we analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00434408.
Results – Between June, 2007, and September, 2009, we enrolled 29 760 newborn babies (10 329, 9423, and 10 008 in the multiple-cleansing, single-cleansing, and dry cord care groups, respectively). Neonatal mortality was lower in the single-cleansing group (22·5 per 1000 livebirths) than it was in the dry cord care group (28·3 per 1000 livebirths; relative risk [RR] 0·80 [95% CI] 0·65—0·98). Neonatal mortality in the multiple-cleansing group (26·6 per 1000 livebirths) was not statistically significantly lower than it was in the dry cord care group (RR 0·94 [0·78—1·14]). Compared with the dry cord care group, we recorded a statistically significant reduction in the occurrence of severe cord infection (redness with pus) in the multiple-cleansing group (risk per 1000 livebirths=4·2 vs risk per 1000 livebirths=1·2; RR 0·35 [0·15—0·81]) but not in the single-cleansing group (risk per 1000 livebirths=3·3; RR 0·77 [0·40—1·48]).
Interpretation – Chlorhexidine cleansing of a neonate’s umbilical cord can save lives, but further studies are needed to establish the best frequency with which to deliver the intervention.
Using data from formative research to focus messaging on mothers’ aspirations for their children and fine-tuning activities based on feedback from the field and household survey data have been key to developing and implementing a handwashing with soap behavior change program in Vietnam.
A new Learning Note, Vietnam: A Handwashing Behavior Change Journey for the Caretakers’ Program published by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), describes the steps that were taken to design, implement, and monitor the program to aid program managers in developing other handwashing and hygiene promotion efforts.
Working closely with the Woman’s Union, the program’s activities in Vietnam reached 540 communes in 10 provinces. The project also trained more than 15,000 community motivators who reached more than 1.76 million women through interpersonal communications activities. As the Learning Note reports, these activities evolved over time based on information from the monitoring systems.
“As the target audiences move beyond knowledge to intention to handwash with soap, behavior change messages must also be modified,” the report found, adding that as the project progressed, opportunities arose to “fine-tune the interpersonal communications activities based on feedback from the field and from the household monitoring data.”
Posted in Hygiene promotion, Publications, Viet Nam
Tagged handwashing, hygiene behaviour, soap, Water and Sanitation Program
WaterAid has signed funding agreements with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for two WASH projects in Bangladesh.
Photo: WaterAid/ Abir Abdullah & ASM Shafiqur Rahman
SDC and WaterAid signed a grant agreement on 30 November 2011 for a 316 million Taka (US$ 3.84 million) three year rural WASH programme. SDC will provide 265.5 million Taka (US$ 3.23 million), and WaterAid the rest. If successful, SDC will extend support for another 3 years.
Most of the funding will go the ‘Promotion of water supply, sanitation and hygiene in hard -to-reach areas of rural Bangladesh’ project, which aims to provide safe drinking water to 500,000 rural people, latrines to 1.3 million and hygiene education to another 1 million people. WaterAid’s inclusion and climate change programmes will also benefit.
Posted in Bangladesh, Financing, Hygiene promotion, On-site sanitation, Rural WASH, Urban WASH, Water supply
Tagged SDC, Sida, WaterAid Bangladesh
Garbage piled up on a flooded street in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Getty Images / WSJ
Industrial parks in Bangkok are being threatened after residents in Bangkok’s northeast demolish government-built levies to release the stagnant, garbage-ridden water that was building up in their neighbourhoods, writes the Wall Street Journal.
Flooded roads are preventing garbage collectors getting to many areas—raising fears over the risk of disease and over the blockage of drains, which is impeding the flow of water into the sea. Bangkok produces about 8,700 tons of rubbish a day—roughly a quarter of Thailand’s total. Added to that figure is the additional trash flowing into the city from northern provinces.
Posted in Emergencies, Hygiene promotion, Multimedia, Solid waste management, Thailand
Accelerated and sustainable progress in sanitation and hygiene is within reach in Asia, as long as we aim at district-wide coverage and build a broad alliance under leadership of local governments. This is the main conclusion of sanitation and hygiene experts from five countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia) participating in a workshop for governance on water, sanitation and hygiene organized by the Nepal government together with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre from 13 to 17 September 2011.
Regional sharing and learning from experiences is an important aspect of the Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All programme being implemented in 17 districts across Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, implemented by local government partners and assisted by SNV and IRC since 2008. Last year, this programme was intensified with co-funding from the AusAID Civil Society WASH Fund and recently with support from DFID in Vietnam. The aim is to contribute to giving two million rural people access to improved hygiene and sanitation facilities by the end of 2015.
This new 9 minute video shows how BRAC is addressing high absenteeism rates among female students through a water, sanitation and hygiene programme in nearly 3,000 schools across rural Bangladesh. The programme includes menstrual hygiene facilties.
[Female students] have expressed that something so simple like as a sanitary latrine can change their entire educational experience.
The video was directed and edited by Sara Liza Baumann of Old Fan Films.
Posted in Bangladesh, Hygiene promotion, School sanitation, Videos
Tagged BRAC, menstrual hygiene
Cartoons promoting promoting hygiene and cleanliness on e-toilets. Photo: The Hindu
An Indian e-toilet manufacturer has partnered with a local animation institute to create hygiene promotion cartoons for schools.
Eram Scientific Solutions with Toonz Academy has created the “Green Army” cartoon characters to make students aware of cleanliness and hygiene. The characters were selected based on a competition conducted among the students of the academy.
Crow, the sweeper of nature, keeps the surroundings clean by eating up the organic wastes. Earthworm, known as the plough of farmers, ploughs the soil and keeps it fertile, frog eats up the insects, mushroom absorbs all the organic waste dissolving them in soil and the cat buries its excreta. These soldiers will reach out to various schools along with two more characters Shuchi and Joy, to teach the students about the necessity of keeping the place tidy.
The Green Army premiered at the South Govt Girls Higher Secondary School (GGHSS) in Ernakulam, Kerala, as part of the suchi@school (Sustainable Comprehensive Hygiene Initiative) project. The project aims to ensure adequate sanitation facilities in all government and government-aided schools in Ernakulam district.
The cartoon characters can be seen on the walls of school model Delight e-toilets supplied to the Ernakulam school by Eram Scientific Solutions.
Related news: India, Kerala: girls’ school in Ernakulam first to get e-toilet, Sanitation Updates, 27 Jul 2011
Related web sites:
Source: Green army all set for action!, The Hindu, 08 Aug 2011
UN-Habitat, the Executing Agency for the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council’s (WSSCC) Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) programme in Nepal, is now seeking expressions of interest for potential sub-grantees to carry out GSF work on the ground in the country.
UN-Habitat will implement the hygiene and sanitation programme in five districts: Arghakhanchi, Bajura, Bardiya, Sindhupalchowk and Sunsari, and in the municipalities of Dharan, Gularia, Inaruwa, Itahari and Tikapur.
Sub-grantees can be Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), private firms and local government bodies.
Deadline: 28 January 2011
For more details read the full Call for Expression of Interest (EOI)
Related web site: WSSCC – Global Sanitation Fund
Please do not send EOIs or requests for information to WASH news Asia & Pacific
Posted in Financing, Hygiene promotion, Nepal, On-site sanitation
Tagged Global Sanitation Fund, UN-HABITAT, WSSCC
Parry, J. Kathy Shordt, K., Cousineau, D. and Wicken, J. (eds) (2010). Sharing experiences : effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific. Mitcham, Vic,. Australia, Water Aid Austrakia ; Brisbane, Qld, Australia, International WaterCentre (IWC) ; The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 74 p. : boxes, fig. photogr., tab. ISBN 978-1-921499-03-6. Download document in full and by chapter.
This publication searches for answers to the question: What makes hygiene promotion work? The search is guided by two keynote papers and 11 project case studies. Each of the case studies examines hygiene promotion from its own perspective, ranging from large national campaigns to remote island communities. The majority of case studies describe experiences in the Pacific and South-East Asia, while a few highlight different approaches and issues from other regions. The case studies are grouped according to the three main
approaches to hygiene promotion: community-based approaches, campaign approaches and a school focus. Key learnings from the 11 case studies are presented using the FOAMS model for behaviour change:
F: Focus practices and focus groups;
O: Opportunities to practice the behaviour
A: Ability to practice
M: Motivation to practice
S: Sustained behaviour change
Listen below to the key lessons from the book
Posted in East Asia, Hygiene promotion, Publications
Tagged case studies, hygiene behaviour
ADB Water for All Asia
