Health workers in Nepal are touring a play from village to village to convince men that hygiene is an essential part of the drama of family life.
Theatre is an innovative way of getting the hygiene message across to men who are not easy to target. In many districts, men go to India for six months at a time for work. When they come home, they often do not attend meetings organised by the health workers.
Hygiene promotion for men is just one element of an EU-funded rehabilitation project being carried out by NGO Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH). The organisation asked IRC to support NEWAH’s regional staff and village health workers to improve their approach to hygiene promotion.
So, health workers wrote a play in collaboration with the project staff responsible for technical support. The workers go from village to village performing a play which shows the importance of having and using a latrine. The moral of the story is that men will not get a wife if they do not have a toilet.
These shows are highly popular and attract many villagers, including men, and it is hoped they will encourage men to display sustained hygienic behaviour. Of course, getting men to change their behaviour may need more than a play, but it’s an excellent first step.

"Happy to see men targeted"

This initiative has attracted interest from other countries. Adiza Lamien Ouando, a civil service administrator who evaluates development projects and programmes in Bamako, Mali, is one who read about the dramatic turn of events on the IRC website. He says: “I am interested in using theatre for sensitisation and am also interested by issues on hygiene. As a gender practitioner, I am happy to see that men are targeted to start change concerning women and children. I am working on a project of an association for community development and would like to learn more about your experience.”

Ingeborg Krukkert