Senegal : Do Hygiene and Handwashing Make for Better Brain Development?
Poor hygiene is a particular problem when it comes to children because they are more susceptible to diarrhea and repeated or severe episodes can harm their health and development. Every year, 800,000 children under the age five die from diarrheal d...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/426171468196448542/Senegal-Do-hygiene-and-handwashing-make-for-better-brain-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28226 |
| Summary: | Poor hygiene is a particular problem
when it comes to children because they are more susceptible
to diarrhea and repeated or severe episodes can harm their
health and development. Every year, 800,000 children under
the age five die from diarrheal disease. Recurrent episodes
of diarrhea can also hurt a child’s ability to absorb
nutrients and this can contribute to health problems and
physical and mental stunting. As a result, many governments
and organizations have created programs to encourage better
hygiene practices and handwashing with soap during critical
times, such as before eating and after using the toilet.
These simple practices have been proven to substantially
reduce the spread of illnesses. The Government of Senegal,
working with the Water and Sanitation Program, launched a
three-month national promotion campaign in 2009 that used
mass media, including radio, television, and billboards, to
encourage people to wash their hands with soap and water. In
the campaign’s second phase, a more intensive, locally
focused promotion campaign was rolled out in seven of the
country’s 11 regions. This ten-month program relied on
community events to inform people about handwashing and to
influence their views and behavior to get them to use soap
and water regularly. |
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