The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) has conducted a survey of handwashing practices in the country with the primary objective of promoting handwashing with soap or ash at key times: before preparing food, before eating or feeding a child, after defecating and after cleaning an infant who has defecated.

The survey is a baseline evaluation for a large joint UNICEF/government of Bangladesh project: Sanitation, Hygiene Education and Water Supply - Bangladesh (SHEWA-B). Field workers observed handwashing behaviour in 100 randomly selected communities in 34 districts, returning two months later to talk to the local people about their handwashing habits. They discovered that the respondents washed their hands 55% of the time at key times, though they only used soap or ash 1.7% of the time.

The results led the researchers to conclude that efforts to improve handwashing in Bangladesh need to focus on persuading people of the need to wash their hands thoroughly with soap. Small-scale studies have shown that handwashing with soap can significantly reduce cases of diarrhoea and respiratory disease. It is difficult, however, to persuade people to do this on a large scale.

Related news:

• Infant mortality: handwashing can save newborn lives, Source South Asia, 18 Sep 2008;
• Hygiene: handwashing indicators strongly influenced by socio-economic status in Bangladesh, Source, 18 Jul 2008;
• Hygiene: handwashing reduces diarrhoea by 30 per cent, Source, 18 Jul 2008

Web site:SHEWA-B

Source: ICDDR,B Health and Science Bulletin, vol. 6, no. 3, Sep 2008

Tags: hygiene promotion, rural wash, south asia, water-related diseases