HIP on AED website
HIP: Hygiene Improvement IQC
Location: Global
Funder: USAID
Duration: 2004-2009
The Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP) is designed to improve health by influencing three key hygiene practices: safe disposal of feces, hand washing and safe storage and treatment of water at point-of-use. HIP offers a new generation of improved technologies, approaches, measures, and technical assistance to achieve this. HIP is a USAID-funded project (2004-2009) operated by the Academy for Educational Development with subcontracting partners The Manoff Group, ARD Inc., and International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) in the Netherlands.
HIP’s unique approach is to achieve impact by implementing at scale. The project intends to address scale through an integrated, systems approach that will ultimately change individual hygiene practices. HIP will develop at-scale programs in at least five countries over the life of the project.
Key HIP tasks include:
- at-scale country implementation;
- integration of hygiene into health and non-health platforms;
- global leadership and advocacy around hygiene improvement;
- support to and liaison with PVOs, NGOs, and networks; and,
- knowledge management to share and promote the best and most effective approaches.
Hygiene improvement is a proven, high-impact intervention. HIP intends to integrate hygiene behaviors into HIV/AIDS programs for PLWA, urban initiatives, schools and IMCI to name a few.
Characteristics of HIP At-Scale Hygiene Improvement Efforts
To reach scale and sustain change, HIP will promote an integrated, systems-approach. It will work to ensure that a full complement of stakeholders, at different levels, using multiple interventions, are incorporated into any hygiene improvement program. HIP will also work to integrate HI into health and non-health efforts, so it becomes mainstreamed and moves from being just one of many development “causes” to being an integral part of all development efforts.
Working at scale also means focusing on all three components of the Hygiene Improvement Framework (access to hardware, hygiene promotion, and an enabling environment) and ensuring that hygiene improvement is considered in policies, budgets, training programs, media campaigns, etc.
HIP will work simultaneously to improve hand washing, safe disposal of feces, and safe storage and treatment of water at POU. Research shows that reinforcing behaviors, for example, washing hands with soap after using the toilet can assist in sustaining improved behaviors. In addition, consumers desire options, which further helps to stimulate demand, e.g., toilet designs, water purification options, soap brands. Lasting change ultimately depends on a critical mass of people taking action and new social norms being formed. This can occur when individuals encounter the same message at every key contact point in their lives.