The Hygiene Promotion Partnership (HPP) intervention will consist of training communities in safe hygiene at household level, coupled with the use of cleaning products, particularly soap for hand washing. There are 70 community based facilitators each responsible for two clusters of 10 households. The clusters are in effect small scale health clubs and the methodologies used are similar. The cluster members have a strong identity, and meet regularly to discuss health issues, and monitor their own health problems each week. At each session participatory sessions with illustrated cards are used and this helps them focus on key hygiene practices which put them at risk from debilitating diseases. The most common of these are diarrhea, dysentery, pneumonia and other bronchial diseases, skin diseases such as scabies and ring worm and intestinal parasites that cause malnutrition. Africa AHEAD is developing the training material and mentoring trainers in the training methodology used in the intervention group.
A manual is being developed that will enable training to be scaled up in South Africa. Africa AHEAD has commissioned almost 200 pictures to be drawn, which will be used in card sets for participatory (PHAST) activities. The 50 page manual will be divided into two main sections:
1. Training in the Community Health Club Methodology
2. Training in Participatory activities with particular focus on issues in informal settlements in South Africa
The manual has been supported by the City Health Department of Cape Town, and will be printed by the end of July.