BEHAVIOR PROFILE: SAFE DISPOSAL OF CHILD FECES

HEALTHHEALTH GOAL GOAL Improve maternal and child survival

BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR Caregivers safely dispose of a child's feces

 Percentage of households that report disposing of baby’s feces in their latrine

BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS STRATEGY

BEHAVIORANDBEHAVIORBEHAVIORAND AND STEPS STEPS FACTORSFACTORS SUPPORTINGSUPPORTING ACTORS ACTORS AND AND ACTIONS ACTIONS POSSIBLEPOSSIBLE PROGRAM PROGRAM STRATEGIES STRATEGIES

What steps are needed to practice this behavior? What factors may prevent or support practice of Who must support the practice of this behavior, What strategies will best focus our eorts based this behavior? and what actions must they take? on this analysis?

Behavior  Strategy requires Communication Support STRUCTURAL INSTITUTIONAL

Policymakers: Amend health and sanitation ENABLING ENVIRONMENT Caregivers safely dispose of child Accessibility: Caregivers who have access to an improved toilet are more policies to include specific language on child feces feces disposal. Financing: Provide financing or credit to likely to safely dispose of child feces. households and businesses for improved water, sanitation, and hygiene products that will facilitate safe disposal of child feces.  Steps Providers: Reinforce the importance and Accessibility: Caregivers are less likely benefits of safe disposal of child feces, while to safely dispose of child feces if water is providing child health services. 1. Help an older child use the toilet not available in or near the toilet. Partnerships and Networks: Collaborate with local governments and others to bring clean water into or closer to households.  2. Help a younger child use a potty Private Sector: Develop, market, and support SOCIAL user-friendly toilets as well as associated products and services to facilitate safe child 3. Dispose of baby or child feces in Family and Community Support: feces disposal. Policies and Governance: Adopt and enable an the toilet immediately Caregivers who receive support from Open Defecation Free policy and sanitation regulations that include interventions and family members can ensure consistent COMMUNITY indicators for safe disposal of child feces.  4. Dig a hole and bury the baby or potty use when they are busy, sick, or child feces if there is no toilet or away from the home and child. Community Leaders: Support comprehensive SYSTEMS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES latrine nearby local sanitation marketing eorts and latrine construction training to improve accessibility. Norms: Caregivers do not safely dispose Infrastructure: Ensure that all health facilities 5. If you need to wait before and child care centers have child-friendly of child feces because it is considered toilets, handwashing facilities, and soap.  disposing or burying child feces in harmless and natural and it is not Teachers: Initiate school-based activities to a chamber pot, cover it tightly common practice to dispose of it in their assist with safe disposal of child feces, including potty use, transfer of feces to a toilet, community or culture. 6. Wash hands with soap under and safe burial if no toilet is available. Products and Technology: Partner with the private sector to increase access to improved clean running water (you and toilets and improved feces management tools, INTERNAL child) Community and Religious Leaders: Share such as potties, diapers, child latrine seats, information about the danger of leaving child tools for retrofitting latrines for child use, Attitudes and Beliefs: Caregivers do  feces in the environment and the benefits of scoopers, and running water.

not allow children to use a latrine safe disposal of child feces. because they fear the child will become contaminated by adult feces, be bitten Quality Improvement: Integrate child by vermin, or fall in. Community Groups: Include potty training in sanitation into existing interventions that MCH-related skill-building sessions. target caregivers of young children such as MNCH services, nutrition, day care.

Attitudes and Beliefs: Caregivers do HOUSEHOLD not safely dispose of child feces in Quality Improvement: Develop and ensure latrines because they perceive the Family Members: Assist with potty training and nurse and community health worker training, transfer of feces into latrines as use. as well as early childhood development cumbersome and inconvenient. materials and preschool programs, include information on safe child feces disposal and Family Members: Enable household to have an ways to help caregivers overcome related Knowledge: Caregivers do not safely improved, safe, and well-maintained toilet that obstacles. is accessible for children (e.g. child seat, well-lit, dispose of child feces because they feel secure cover, etc.) and has water nearby. that child feces is not unsafe (even DEMAND AND USE though they feel that adult feces is). Advocacy: Implement school programs to Family Members: Seek and share information engage children in increasing demand for about safe disposal of child feces, including its improved toilets, water, and safe disposal of Skills: Caregivers may not know how to importance. child feces as well as assisting with disposal teach their child to use the potty or tasks as appropriate for their age. latrine. Communication: Design and implement strategies such as mass, folk, and social media campaigns and direct consumer contact, promotion of aspirational messages, and training of community activists.

Collective Engagement: Strengthen, train, support, and monitor village health, hygiene, and nutrition committees to create awareness among communities about the risks of unsafe disposal of child feces and benefits and means of safe disposal of child feces.