Ghanaians use soap, and they buy a lot of it. However, the soap is almost all used for cleaning clothes, washing dishes and bathing. In a baseline study, 75 percent of mothers claimed to wash hands with soap after toilet use, but observation showed that only a third of mothers washed their hands at all and only 3 percent washed with soap. Mothers who did use soap generally said it felt good to remove dirty matter from hands, it was refreshing, it was a way of caring for children and it enhanced their social status.

The Ghana Public-Private Partnership to Promote Handwashing crafted a high-impact communication strategy with the slogan “ For Truly Clean Hands, Always Wash with Soap.” An intensive programme was carried from 2004 to 2006 to bring the handwashing with soap message to the target audiences – mothers and caregivers of children under five years and children in school, ages 6-15 years. The programme used mass media, direct consumer contact and a district-level programme through schools, health centres and communities. The communication strategy also targeted policy makers and opinion leaders and promoted handwashing infrastructure in schools and public latrines.

The communication mix

• Mass media: The programme employed state-of-the-art marketing strategies. The guiding concept for this phase of work was “Your hands are only truly clean if washed with soap.” Two radio and two TV adverts suggested that there was “‘something’ on your hands,” suggesting an unknown menace, an unseen contamination that only soap could remove. The two radio adverts and a TV advert targeted mothers and caregivers, while the other TV advert targeted children. Radio and television adverts were supported by posters and billboards in all 110 district and 10 regional capitals of the country, and by the distribution of badges, T-shirts, branded poly bags and soap. The radio and TV adverts ran for six months, with particularly intense activity in the first three months of the campaign.
• Direct to consumer contact: Under the Direct Consumer Contact (DCC) Programme, an event management firm visited two districts per region in six regions and conducted 128 high-impact events in schools, reaching more than 100,000 school children, 2,930 teachers and 926 food vendors. Another 132 activities in health centres and communities reached 11,500 mothers. This interpersonal communication provided information on handwashing with soap in an innovative, interactive, face-to-face manner, allowing consumers to ask questions and talk about handwashing with soap, in a way that supports behaviour change.
• PR campaign: A programme targeted at opinion leaders as well as the two strategic target audiences used press and media coverage to promote handwashing. Radio and television discussion programmes and interviews were broadcast throughout the country on national media and district-specific FM radio stations. An advocacy brochure outlining the strategy for the initiative was distributed to strategic targets and partners.

After six months of the campaign, rates for handwashing with soap for mothers topped 80 percent. Exposure to campaign materials was high, with almost everyone able to sing the campaign theme song, and more than 80 percent of children and adults reporting more frequent handwashing with soap.

What was new about the Public-private partnership to promote handwashing in Ghana programme? The programme made contamination visible to the ordinary Ghanean for the first time, effectively communicating a hygiene message using commercial marketing techniques.

In Ghana, diarrhoea accounts for 25 percent of all deaths in children under five and is among the top three reported causes of morbidity. Children under five typically have three-five episodes of diarrhoea and a similar number of respiratory infections a year. Nine million episodes of disease could be prevented each year by washing hands with soap.

Lessons

A major lesson from the Ghana programme was that it takes time and effort to establish common ground and trust and to get partners from different backgrounds and sectors working effectively together. However, the programme showed that the public and private sectors can work together for the public good when there is transparency, the strengths of each are recognised and each member is treated as an equal partner.

Source: Public-private partnership to promote handwashing in Ghana
http://www.globalhandwashingday.org/ppph_in_ghana.asp

Accessed 14 October 2008

Tags: advocacy, africa, hygiene promotion, information and communication, water-related diseases