The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council Community of Practice on Sanitation and Hygiene in Developing Countries (WSSCC CoP) and the global Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) came together in late September 2015 to hold a joint three-week thematic discussion on sanitation and hygiene behaviour change programming and sustainability. It was the first time the two networks had come together to host an online collaborative learning event. Both platforms have over 5,000 members each working in WASH and other related sectors. Hence, this thematic discussion was an opportunity to bring together these two global communities to share learning and to explore links between research and practice on behaviour change.

The discussion was divided into three inter-linked sub-themes to further explore how behaviour change can be better understood and improved to ensure health and WASH outcomes are sustained. Each week was led by specialists in each theme who framed the content for debate and posed structured questions for discussion amongst online participants. The three sub-themes included:

1. Programming for scale – week one focused on defining scale for sanitation and Hygiene behaviour change (BC) programming, sharing examples of successful scale-up (or the ingredients thereof) and understanding stakeholders’ responsibilities and relationships;

2. Sustainability for behaviour change – the second week sought to explore the social and behavioural norms and dynamics that influence hygiene practices – specifically, handwashing and the use of sanitation facilities;

3. Open defecation free (ODF) status and slippage – the third and final week of the discussion focused on understanding terminology, exploring patterns of slippage and local strategies for preventing or mitigating slippage.

This summary paper brings together key discussion points from across the three sub-themes and captures key reflections on each. The author of this synthesis acted as the thematic discussion coordinator across the two online platforms; she would like to express her gratitude to everyone that shared their time and insights for this exercise.

Bibliographic information

Keatman, T. (2015). Thematic Discussion: Sanitation and hygiene behaviour change programming Discussion Synthesis Water Sanitation & Supply Collaborative Council (WSSCC); Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

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Behaviour change (WG13)English

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