South Africa, Kwa Zulu Natal

Umzimkhulu Municipality in Sisonke District of KZN was selected by the Department of Water Affairs to pilot this project that was initiated as part of the IWRM (Integrated Water Resource Management) programme being funded by the Danish Embassy (DANIDA). Umzimkhulu was part of the Eastern Cape until it was recently absorbed into Kwa Zulu Natal. The area has one of the lowest levels of development in KZN as demonstrated in this base-line survey which highlights that safe drinking water supply is a major challenge with only 15% of households having access to a safe water source whilst the remaining households have to use open ground water, usually in the form of unprotected springs.  As this surface water is open to contamination it needs to be treated or boiled before consumption. Sanitation usually consists of a household pit latrine and although the coverage is high at 90%, around 50% are unhygienic, smell  and attracted flies which would account for the high levels of diarrhoea in the area. Most social scientists would agree that changing people’s hygiene habits is notoriously difficult, and there are few good case studies to-date. Africa AHEAD was commissioned as service provider to introduce a health promotion campaign in the 1st phase of an holistic development package that would build the capacity of the community through health clubs, with the objective of developing a community-led demand for improved water and sanitation. Although Africa AHEAD has initiated Community Health Clubs in informal settlements, this is the first pilot project in South Africa to be implemented in a rural community.

  • Country: South Africa
  • Period: 2009
  • Donor: Danida
  • Partner: Department for Water and Forestry
  • Province: Kwa Zulu Natal
  • Number of Villages: nine
  • Number of households: 
  • Number of CHCs: 2
  • Number of Members: 120
  • Percentage CHC coverage: 57%
  • Number of EHTs: 1
  • Number of CHC facilitators: 2
  • Number of beneficiaries: 800

COMMUNITY HEALTH CLUBS IN UMZIMKHULU

In February 2009, working with the Umzimkhulu Municipality and local councillors, a Community Health Club was started in each ward. Africa AHEAD trained facilitators from the community in how to conduct health promotion sessions using PHAST participatory activities to promote hygiene behaviour change. Almost 1,000 members were registered and weekly sessions were held in all nine wards. Attendance rates varied according to the proficiency of the facilitator, but although most members attended some sessions, there were 550 hard-core members who completed all 24 health topics within six months. Certificates were awarded at a Graduation Ceremony in September 2009, attended by district and provincial representatives which marked the end of the pilot project. In the next phase, relevant government departments are planning to use these well mobilised communities to improve water, sanitation and quality of life through agricultural and income generating activities.

Above: Hygiene Behaviour Change indicators in 9 CHCs in rural Umzimkhulu, Kwa Zulu Natal,  after six months of CHC Training (2009)

RESULTS

The levels of behaviour change as a result  of this project are exciting, with an overall average of 20%, which is considered high comparing similar programmes (WSP-World Bank, 2002). In the post intervention survey (September 2009), it was found that 76% of all registered members are now following the recommended practices promoted during the weekly health promotion sessions. As is shown in the chart below, whereas before the project only 18.1% had safe water, there is an 41% change. Although the water source is still not safe, 51% now treat their water, 86.1% store it safely and 87% take it using a ladle, so minimizing contamination. Sanitation has improved by 14%, from 71.1% with no open defecation to 87.8% of members having ZOD (Zero Open Defecation) defined as clean covered latrines with no faeces. In addition, whereas only 29% of member households had a dedicated hand washing facility near their latrine at the beginning of the project, 70.1% have now constructed a simple facility that allows them to wash their hands immediately upon exiting their latrine. Even more impressive is the use of soap for hand washing that has risen from 40.1% in February to 68.4% six months later. An observable indicator is an 18% drop in Ringworm seen in CHC households, a disease caused by infrequent washing  and  lack of  soap, 87.7% mother can now prepare SSS correctly, so saving babies that might have died from dehydration. There is little doubt that family health has been improved where health clubs have been established in Umzimkhulu, and demand to scale up this programme to all other wards is high. Meanwhile the self-motivated improvements that some Health Clubs have already made contingency measures to protect their water sources. without any external financial or technical assistance. Each CHC now has a trained building group, now constructing safe latrines on demand for members. This display of self reliance validates the CHC Approach, which aims to empower communities so that they manage their own health and utilize existing resources more effectively, at least until government can provide the required services.

Reference: 

Waterkeyn, J & Rosenfeld J (2009)  Monitoring Hygiene Behaviour Change  Through Community Health Clubs.Africa AHEAD.