Water washed and water related diseases continue to be the leading cause of hospital admission, accounting for up to 50% of the hospital admissions in developing countries. Acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) accounts for more than 50% of child and maternal mortality and morbidity. Knowledge, attitudes and practice surveys in various nationalities and communities in developing countries clearly indicate that in most areas, there is very high level of awareness on the causes of AWDs, but positive hygiene practices is very low. The issue of menstrual hygiene has also been identified as a key sanitation issue that impacts negatively in the development of girls from financially challenged backgrounds. Over the years, various participatory methodologies have been developed to address the challenge of poor sanitation and hygiene practices, however, each of these methodologies have major strength and weaknesses, depending on the obtaining situation and target group.
This course aims at offering the participants a critical analysis of the various participatory approaches, identifying their key strengths and weakness, and enabling the participants be able to identify the best methodology or combination of methodologies to achieve the desired positive behaviour change in sanitation for communities from various backgrounds. The course recognises that the overall objective of positive behaviour changes in various operating environment require a combination of approaches. It also recognises special challenges such as menstrual hygiene as a key challenge in enabling girls to achieve their full potential.