Strengthening Hygiene Promotion in the West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) Partnership in Ghana, Mali and Niger: Assessing the Capacity of WAWI Partners to Promote Hygiene (Activity Report 138)

Effective disease reduction requires that the basic elements are accessible and available to audiences to practice desired hygiene behaviors; clarity and consistency are provided to audiences; audience understanding, knowledge, and ability are in place; and outside influencing factors are supporting desired hygiene behaviors. To fulfill these requirements, disease reduction programs must ensure that appropriate and crucial staff capacities are in place. This WAWI hygiene promotion (HP) capacity assessment appraised the necessary skills and capacities of each WAWI partner carrying out hygiene promotion activities.

The three necessary elements to behavior change include:

(1) access to hardware — water, sanitation and household technologies such as soap safe water containers, water, sanitation and household technologies,

(2) hygiene promotion activities — communication and training, and

(3) enabling environment — policy and others. Where these three elements overlap, maximum behavior change is possible. When the provision of all three elements begins to happen more often in the same villages, communities, and districts, the overlap increases and so does the potential for increased and sustained behavior change.

Three main components and seven sub-components were examined during this assessment utilizing self-assessment tools, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and materials review. The components and sub-components comprised: behaviour change, strategies, and resources.

Contents

About the Author Acknowledgements

Acronyms

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2. Purpose

1.3. Assessment Objectives

2. Methodology

2.1. Design

2.2. Sources, Sample Size, and Sites

3. Assessment Findings

3.1. Self-Assessment Results

3.2. Qualitative Findings

4. Strengthening Hygiene Promotion in the WAWI Partnership

4.1. Behavior Change Strategy

4.2. Steps in Behavior Change Strategy Development

4.3. Model for a WAWI Behavior Change Strategy

5. Next Steps and Recommendations

5.1. Ghana Possible Next Steps

5.2. Mali Possible Next Steps

5.3. Niger Possible Next Steps

5.4. Recommendations

Key EHP Documents for Further Reading

Annex A. Organizations Contacted

Annex B. List of Documents Reviewed

Annex C. Tally of Self-Assessment Scores

Annex D. Sample Coverage and Activities Matrix

Annex E. Possible Capacity Strengthening Program