Improving water and sanitation hygiene behaviours for the reduction of diarrhoeal disease : the report of an informal consultation, Geneva, 18-20 May 1992

Epidemiologic evidence shows that diarrhoeal morbidity can be reduced through improved hygiene behaviours, even when the provision of appropriate water and sanitary hardware is not feasible. However, hygiene education interventions often target too many behaviours or behaviours that would have limited impact in reducing the disease burden. In addition, the water and sanitation sector suffers from a lack of innovative approaches to hygiene education. After reviewing the epidemiological evidence, this consultation first identified a set of key hygiene behaviours which, if adopted, can lead to reductions in diarrhoeal morbidity, then stressed the need for the dissemination of more effective approaches to hygiene education, especially public health communications, participatory methods and school hygiene education. Three hygiene behaviours which could lead to the greatest reduction of diarrhoeal morbidity were identified as being: i. safer disposal of faeces; ii. hand washing (after defaecation, after handling babies' faeces, before feeding and eating, and before preparing food); and iii. maintaining drinking water free from faecal contamination, in the home and at the source.