Addis Ababa - Handwashing is a first line response in the fight against COVID-19. But how can behavior change communicators infuse some fun in the messaging, without diluting the effectiveness? IOM Ethiopia may offer some clues.

This year staff at IOM Ethiopia teamed up with the non-profit organization Clown Science Dreams (CSD) to promote hygiene and community empowerment through mime, art, drama, and dance in the towns of Wonago and Kercha.

Community members gathered for the entertainment while simultaneously learning easy methods to protect their families from disease. This was particularly relevant in Wanago which suffered from a prolonged cholera outbreak, another disease for which correct hygiene, including regular handwashing, is a key preventive measure.

In addition to Wonago and Kercha, the collaboration between IOM and CSD ran in Wollega, W. Guji and Gedeo and East Hararge. The main locations targeted were rural communities and small towns where whole communities could participate in the events. But in the final weeks of the partnership planned events had to be cancelled as the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Ethiopia.

In West Guji and Gedeo, more than 1,000 community members including 350 children had turned up for the education and entertainment. Since then, the importance of regular handwashing has become even more pertinent due to the imperative of protecting the community from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, community gatherings are no longer possible. Yet the IOM team is hoping that communities will remember the messages previously shared through drama, humour and dance to help them face up to the new threat.

On the other hand, IOM staff members trained by CSD in communication and emotional intelligence skills are keen to use the lessons they learned. One of them is Fireselam Chernet, a WASH clerk based in Bulehora, who says: “During the training, I learned good communication skills, leadership skills and how to work in a team. I know that these skills will help me and my teammates in responding to this difficult situation as the coronavirus affects my country”.

The awareness programmes were carried out with funding support from European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Ethiopia Hmanitarian Fund (EHF), Government of Japan (JSB) and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

Long before the COVID-19 epidemic, IOM was also working on several water access, hygiene promotion and sanitation (WASH) efforts in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa. In 2019, 1,733,628 Ethiopians were internally displaced by conflict, environmental degradation and natural disasters. This has left such communities with little access to clean water, sanitation or decent shelter – prompting IOM to get involved. The onset of COVID-19 is just the latest health and sanitation issue in need of attention.

Kercha and Wonago towns were among many settlements that have little access to clean water and hygiene material. As Tabata Fioretto, the IOM Ethiopia WASH and Shelter Programme Manager explains: “In the past year IOM supported Kercha by increasing access to safe water. This was possible through the rehabilitation of shallow water wells across the town, rehabilitating a major spring and constructing a gravity system by building a water reservoir and water tap stands for the community.”

According to Tabata, promoting hygiene is a fundamental activity along the hard components of rehabilitating or constructing new water sources. “We need to find alternative methods in ensuring engagement of the community, so that they can feel part of the WASH, water sanitation and hygiene programmes to create awareness on good practices and sustainability of the facilities. This is the reason why we chose the training from CSD members, which is an effective way in passing messages to the community differently, in an engaging people in a participative way and through arts….,” she explains. 

CSD has a history of working among the most vulnerable. But members CSD Mayra and Jaume say planning for the anti-COVID-19 skits was some-what different. “Enhancing emotional intelligence and using drama and mime is especially more effective among vulnerable communities. This is mainly because it helps to provide a space for expression, to explain their stories, to share and express emotions and human realities. The objective is to make them feel like providing the information contextualised in their own realities, as part of their lives. By the time the show is over, the message will remain with the beneficiaries.”

For more information, please contact IOM Ethiopia: Alemayehu Seifeselassie, Tel: +251116611117 (Ext. 1455), Mobile: +251911639082, Email: salemayehu@iom.int