"Investing in WASH communication pays back ten times"

Published on: 30/08/2011

Our Striking Communication side event was live streamed and the quote from Nepal “Take a pee, get one rupee” made it into the final plenary at the Stockholm World Water Week on 26 August 2011. The quote came from Mr. Bhushan Tuladhar, Regional Technical Advisor, South Asia of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme in his speed presentation Children with cameras: knowledge sharing for changing the sanitation attitudes in Nepal. Mr. Srirendra Pokhrel, Headmaster of Majhgawn high school after training on ecological sanitation asked school children with the help of their cameras to convince their parents to make his village an Eco sanitation, open defecation free village.

This one-hour session to which IRC’s Nick Dickinson and Dick de Jong contributed can still be seen at  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/striking-wash-communication.

The Nepal case was one of five examples of sharing and discussing impact of communication on water and sanitation. Others were from Afghanistan, Haiti, South Africa and Uganda:

• Julia Kent, Sr. Manager, Sanitation Programme Services, Water For People shared How business-focused communications can improve sanitation service delivery in urban Uganda.

• Daniela Giardina, Research Centre on Environmental Management for developing countries (CeTAmb) and International Humanitarian Organization (CESVI presented highlights from Hygiene promotion in schools during the cholera outbreak in Haiti, 2010.

• Sue Yardly, Sr. Public Policy Officer, Water and Sanitation, Tearfund highlighted Engaging the media for public health messaging: utilising national radio in Afghanistan.

• Neil MacLeod, Head Water and Sanitation, Department of Water and Sanitation, Durban, South Africa  Durban – two way communication helps WASH service delivery by the eThekwini Municipality.

Investing in communication pays back ten times

Through the discussions it became clear that investing in simple and effective methodologies for segmenting, targeting communications and independent monitoring their effectiveness pays back. Neil MacLeod: “We invest 300,000 Euro per year in two way communication as part of our water sanitation and hygiene service delivery and 300,000 Euro for advertising. It pays back ten times, in 95 percent payment for the water above the free supply, water savings and not having to clean up the waste and wastewater mess afterwards”.

The presentations will appear shortly on the Striking WASH Communications blog we maintain.