This paper is compiled to share the experience of the project’s various activities related to hygiene promotion. It includes a description of applied participatory methods for behavioural change at different levels in crisis-ridden, vulnerable rural communities of Pakistan.
Published on: 28/11/2011
Pakistan faced the unprecedented floods in the Country’s history in July - August 2010. While citizens across the country were affected in a variety of ways, a few cities facing the worst impacts are in the conflict-prone North West province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including District Charsadda and Nowshera. Oxfam GB in partnership with Social Action Bureau for Assistance and Welfare and Organizational Networking (SABAWON), a Pakistan based national NGO, took the lead and initiated a life-saving emergency response project to minimize the suffering though provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services on urgent basis to the flood-affected communities. The project was initiated with financial support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
A significant component of the early recovery phase WASH project was a school-based hygiene promotion program. The child-to-child approach used for promotion of good health practices where children largely helped in changing perceptions at community level. The usage of a forum like the child club proved highly successful in imparting hygiene communication messages at scale. Additional enabling factors such as training programs for school teachers, capacity building and awareness raising of village based development organizations, coordination and support for the district level government education department played significant roles in the program’s success.
This paper is compiled to share the experience of the project’s various activities related to hygiene promotion. It includes a description of applied participatory methods for behavioural change at different levels in crisis-ridden, vulnerable rural communities of Pakistan.
