Diarrhoea is the leading cause of child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and the second largest cause of child deaths globally. The latest available data indicate that in 2008 1.3 million children under the age of five died from diarrhoea, an entirely preventable disease. Hygiene promotion, including handwashing with soap, has been shown to be one of the most effective ways of reducing diarrhoeal incidence. There is no MDG target for hygiene promotion; however there are targets for the other aspects of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). 2.7 billion people, almost two-fifths of the world’s population still live without access to improved sanitation and around 900 million people, roughly one in eight of the world’s population, live without access to safe drinking water. The AusAID sponsored Sanitation and Water 08 Conference in Melbourne in October 2008 identified hygiene promotion and behaviour change as keys to improving WASH outcomes in the region. At this conference delegates pledged to increase the focus on hygiene promotion and strengthen capacity in this area to address the WASH crisis in the region. This publication and its widespread dissemination are a step towards turning this conference pledge into action through raising the profile of hygiene promotion and strengthening the capacity of practitioners to design and implement effective hygiene promotion programs.

Bibliographic information

WaterAid Australia, IWC, IRC (2010). Sharing experiences: Effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific WaterAid, International Water Centre, International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), Brisbane, Australia

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