Using theatre to promote men’s hygiene in Nepal

Local health workers in Nepal are performing in village plays to promote men’s hygiene.

It’s an innovative way of getting the hygiene message across to the target audience – men. Targeting men is not easy because, in many districts, men go to India for six months at a time for work. When they come back home, they often do not attend meetings organised by the health workers.

Hygiene promotion for men is just one element of an EU-funded rehabilitation project being carried out by NGO Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH). The organisation asked IRC to support NEWAH’s regional staff as well as village health workers in improving their approach to hygiene promotion.

So, health workers wrote a play in collaboration with the project staff responsible for technical support. The workers go from village to village performing in a theatre play which shows the importance of having and using a latrine. The moral of the story is that men will not get a wife if they do not have a toilet.

These shows are highly popular and attract many villagers, including men, and it is hoped they will encourage men to display sustained hygienic behaviour in the community. Of course, getting men to change their behaviour may need more than a play, but it’s an excellent first step in reaching them.

More information: Ingeborg Krukkert or Carmen da Silva Wells