Treatment of drinking water at the household level is one of the most effective preventive interventions against diarrhea, a leading cause of illness and death among children in developing countries. A pilot project in two districts in Rwanda aimed to increase use of Sûr'Eau, a chlorine solution for drinking water treatment, through a partnership between community-based health insurance schemes and community health workers who promoted and distributed the product. Evaluation of the pilot, drawing on a difference-in-differences design and data from pre- and post-pilot household surveys of 4,780 households, showed that after 18 months of pilot implementation, knowledge and use of the product increased significantly in two pilot districts, but remained unchanged in a control district. The pilot was associated with a 40–42 percentage point increase in ever use, and 8–9 percentage points increase in use of Sûr'Eau at time of the survey (self-reported measures). Our data suggest that exposure to inter-personal communication on Sûr'Eau and hearing about the product at community meetings and health centers were associated with an increase in use.
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Research Article|
January 24 2012
A community-based approach to promote household water treatment in Rwanda
Slavea Chankova;
1International Health Division, Abt Associates, Inc., 4550 Montgomery Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
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Laurel Hatt;
Laurel Hatt
1International Health Division, Abt Associates, Inc., 4550 Montgomery Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
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Sabine Musange
Sabine Musange
2Economics and Management Department, National University of Rwanda, School of Public Health, Health Policy, PO Box 5229, Kigali, Rwanda
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J Water Health (2012) 10 (1): 116–129.
Article history
Received:
April 28 2011
Accepted:
October 20 2011
Citation
Slavea Chankova, Laurel Hatt, Sabine Musange; A community-based approach to promote household water treatment in Rwanda. J Water Health 1 March 2012; 10 (1): 116–129. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2012.071
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