On April 27, the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing (PPPHW) presented the highlights of the 2016 Handwashing Think Tank that was held in London on April 12-13. Hanna Woodburn, Secretariat Director of the PPPHW, facilitated the webinar.

Objective of the 2016 Handwashing Think Tank
Addressing the thematic areas of handwashing integration, settings, and scale/sustainability, this Think Tank was designed to explore current knowledge about handwashing with soap, spark collaborative thinking about handwashing, and to drive the sector forward. Representatives from civil society organizations, government, academic institutions, and the private sector discussed how the WASH sector can best move from evidence to action.

Handwashing Integration
Hanna Woodburn presented on the theme of handwashing integration. Incorporating handwashing promotion into programs that have similar goals and objectives would allow the sector to harness synergies and be less duplicative in programming. Hanna discussed barriers to integration of handwashing into newborn care programs, the impact and challenges of integrating handwashing into nutrition interventions, and the role handwashing plays in community-led total sanitation.

Settings
Dr. Robert Aunger of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine presented on the powerful concept of behavior settings. He began by underscoring that it is essential to have a robust understanding of how daily routines trigger certain behaviors. Manipulating emotional drivers and physical elements of one’s setting can lead to transformed social norms. Dr. Aunger used case studies and research around food hygiene behavior change efforts amongst mothers in Nepal to demonstrate how settings can be leveraged for behavior change.

Scale & Sustainability
Dr. Val Curtis, also of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, discussed the aspect of attaining scale and sustainability of handwashing programs. Dr. Curtis highlighted the achievements of the BRAC WASH program in Bangladesh, which coupled intensified inputs and community support with government funding commitments and private sector investments in handwashing infrastructure. Dr. Curtis then discussed the work of the Toilet Board Coalition , which used a business accelerator model and co-innovation process to create and distribute a user-centric, portable toilet. She ended the segment with an overview of WaterSHED Asia ’s rigorous, human-centered design approach to create and market the LaBobo handwashing station.

The way forward
We need to ensure that handwashing is not an afterthought, so hygiene should be prioritized at the program and policy levels. The challenge that the SDGs has put forth—sanitation and hygiene for all—will only be met if we are innovative, integrated, and take action behavior change methods that we know work.

To learn more, please watch the webinar recording or download event summaries, presentations, and daily reports on the PPPHW website .

If you're like me and keep forgetting what the abbreviation EDT stands for, check here for your local time of the webinar:

www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converted...426T09&p1=173&p2=927

EDT is for example the time in New York, e.g. 9 am New York time.
If you're in the same time zone as Germany then it's 3 pm.
For me in Australia it will be 11 pm.

There are actually three interesting webinars with somewhat similar topics on three consecutive days (see forum.susana.org/forum/categories/146-we...-and-online-meetings for detals):

• Today: Webinar: CSO Learning for Impact on 26 April, 15:00 (Australian Eastern Standard Time) - WASH Communication for Maximum Impact
• Tomorrow: this one
• The day after tomorrow: SuSanA webinar: Opportunities and challenges of achieving WASH behaviour change, April 28th, 7:00 EDT (New York time)

So if you have time: join in! Otherwise, check out the recordings afterwards.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Just one week until the PPPHW webinar "Moving from Evidence to Action: Highlights of the 2016 Handwashing Think Tank".

Register today and learn how you can apply the latest evidence and thinking to your work in handwashing and behavior change.

Please join the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and WaterAid on April 27 at 9 am EDT for the 2016 Handwashing Think Tank webinar “Moving from Evidence to Action”. Expert speakers will share highlights from the Think Tank and will deliver brief, engaging presentations on each thematic area: handwashing integration, settings, and scale/sustainability.

Register today!

Please also feel free to extend this invitation to colleagues and networks.

Dear Colleagues,

Next month the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, in conjunction with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and WaterAid, is hosting a Handwashing Think Tank exploring how we can move from evidence to action in three key areas: integration, settings, and scale and sustainability.

I would like to invite you and any interested colleagues to join us for the Think Tank plenary session on April 12 at 4:00 PM at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. During this session you will hear from experts in the sector on how they think we can move handwashing forward. The presentations will be followed by a reception allowing for opportunities to network and learn.

For more information, or to RSVP, please visit our EventBrite page. Please feel free to share this invitation.

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Otherwise, I hope to see you on April 12!