Safe Water and AIDS – SWAP’s program activities are conducted through existing structures where the communities take an active role in their own health and development. SWAP has continued to conduct trainings and build the capacities of communities and the various program beneficiaries to enhance their development agenda for sustainability. Capacity building of target populations in various programs has been key in empowering and supporting them to address their health needs through enabling them engage, share ideas, mobilizing resources and adopt positively to the ever changing needs.
Training of Health Workers on WASH.
The training focuses on the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program WASH global standards for health care facilities. Other topics include disease prevention, Hand Hygiene, Infection Control and Prevention and Social Behavioral Change Communication. Training was also done during a pilot study on infection prevention and control (IPC) bringing together ethnographic and epidemiology. The IPC focal persons and Public Health Officers were targeted during this pilot. On the job mentorship and training also continued for health workers in the production units of chlorine using the STREAM chlorine generators at 7 health care facilities. Further training was done to 4 health care facilities during cholera outbreak in the informal settlement of Kisumu on the use of ozone generators for treatment of drinking water.
Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC)
SBCC is the strategic use of communication approaches to promote changes in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs and behaviors SBCC is grounded in theory and is evidence-based. Programs are designed on the basis of existing data and they follow a systematic process, analyzing the problem in order to define barriers and motivators to change, and design a comprehensive set of tailored interventions that promote the desired behaviors. SWAP has incorporated SBCC in most of its program and research in the prevention of HIV, Diarrhea and Malaria as well as during emergency response during flood response the COVID-19 pandemic and cholera outbreaks. SWAP uses this SBCC approach as a way of communicating and providing feedback to promote social behavior change. The technique encourages participatory dialogue that increases inner motivation and problem solving.
Early Childhood Development
Early Childhood Development has been testing an international ECD curriculum facilitated by Community Health Promoters. The study tests different potentially cost effective delivery models for an ECD intervention with curriculum that integrates child psychosocial stimulation and nutrition education. Training is key in this study as if focuses on an international ECD curriculum. Training of booster sessions greatly focus on play, talk, food, hygiene, parenting roles, love and respect is conducted for the Community Health Promoters who are delivery agents and directly implement the curriculum to mothers in the intervention through group sessions and home visits in selected villages in VIhiga, Hamisi and Kisumu West. Sessions now also include mobile phone technology using videos.
Social Marketing of Health Products
SWAP has since 2005 worked with vulnerable groups and community health volunteers to enable them to do the social marketing of health and hygiene products. They are prepared to do door to door sales and provide health messages using social behavioral change communication. The training includes social marketing, social behavioral change communication, business skills, record keeping, interpersonal communication, village savings and loans, primary health care and hygiene promotion.
Safe Water Enterprises
SWAP has currently two safe water enterprises in Ahero and Chuthber, while Sondu water enterprise was handed over to the communities SWAP facilitated several trainings for the local community based organization and water operator in Chutber to prepare them for the management of the safe water enterprise. On the job training continued by the lab team on technical maintenance of the technology. Other training included business skills, group dynamics, financial management, record keeping, business planning, social marketing, social behavioral change and hygiene promotion.
