Page 97 - Research & Innovation Report 2020

HEALTH SCIENCES

communal plastic bowl. “So if a person’s hands are not only dirty but
contaminated with a communicable disease, chances are that another
person will get contaminated while washing hands in the same bowl.”

The study observed that many of the ECD schools were not
registered with the Department of Social Development, as they
lacked the financial means to meet the registration criteria –
but failure to register meant they were unable to access any
government funding to improve their WASH facilities.

After assessing the ECD centres’ WASH status, the researchers
came up with an intervention strategy that would lead to immediate
and extensive impact.

“We felt we could start with enhancing the teachers’ and caregivers’
awareness around how these diseases are transmitted, and also
provide WASH messages to help them wash hands hygienically.”

Prof Melariri and her team developed child-friendly WASH
messages – so that the practitioners would understand how to
teach these little ones, who in turn could share these messages
with their families, to improve hygiene in their homes.

“Our team came up with a song which will enhance assimilation of
the WASH processes.
Prof Paula Melariri
“Children are good transmitters. They can actually take these
or presented in the clinics, including those commonly caused by messages back to the communities and, as the community
intestinal parasites, geo-helminths (parasitic worms) and bilharzia.” adopts these messages, we’ll start seeing improved health in the
community. That is an integral part of the aim of this project, to
Since many of these preventable diseases are linked to unsafe enhance the understanding of not only the practitioners, but the
water and poor hygiene conditions, and because these diseases participation of the communities.
mostly affect children under five, often stunting their growth
or even causing their deaths, Melariri and her research team “That first study made us realise there is a huge need to enhance
received approval to visit ECD centres in Mandela Bay’s poorest the WASH status at ECD centres and primary schools. Starting
areas to assess their WASH status and practices. in Mandela Bay, we plan to extend this project across the entire
Eastern Cape and turn it into a sustainable programme.”
“Children under five have not yet acquired much immunity. So it is
a concern if the environment where they spend most of their day is The team is currently assessing more than 80 ECD centres in Nelson
not adequately protected or clean.” Mandela Bay, using a pre- and post-intervention assessment strategy.

During the initial assessment phase, Melariri’s team visited 46 ECD “The intervention phase is very important because we provide
centres with more than 2 400 children – and were alarmed by what the ECD centres with educational materials with age-appropriate
they saw. “It was so disheartening when I saw very young children, illustrations and images, as well as hand-washing liquid and a
less than three years old, using the open bucket system. Such a water-dispensing heating bucket.”
system is very risky, health wise.”
The baseline assessment and intervention phases of the project
More than 20% of the ECD centres used the bucket system, while have since been completed. The post-intervention phase will be
in 60% of centres, many children shared too few potties. carried out later to evaluate the success of the intervention phase.

They also found that only 11% of the study population washed hands *Tippy Taps are simple and economical hand-washing stations,
hygienically under running tap water or under tippy taps*, while made with commonly available materials and not dependent on
children in 79% of these centres took turns to wash their hands in a a piped water supply

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