AVUDS celebrates global handwashing day

The AVUDS team, Oxfam’s implementing partner for the SWIFT project in North and South Kivu, celebrated World Handwashing Day on October 15th.

In Kalungu, Kalehe territory in South Kivu, the teams carried out awareness raising campaigns to prepare for the day. AVUDS worked tirelessly to help the population set up their latrines and their handwashing devices so that everything would be ready on the day.

Kalungu is also one of the locations where the SWIFT behaviour change pilot is being implemented. By identifying what motivates people to change their behaviour, the teams in the pilot can adjust the strategy to ensure we are deploying messages that persuade or appeal to people.

This day is a great opportunity to promote good hygiene practices.

This day of celebration helps reinforce messages to the population to encourage the adoption of basic hygiene practices. On October 15, at noon, everyone was invited to stop what they where doing and take a moment to wash their hands. It is a simple action but one that has important repercussions on health. This day was a great success and people were very happy to take part.