CO-CO WASH

Co-creation of a community based water sanitation and hygiene model with children and youth

About

With Africa’s young population, there is an increased need to assess research designs and methodologies suitable for incorporating children and youth. In addition to research output, investments in Africa’s children and youth allows for and increase the chances of sustainability.

This research uses the Ecological Theory for WASH assessment and will offer a unique view of the WASH ecosystem from the grassroots, allowing for bottom-up and collaborative intervention. Comparisons across regional research sites (Zambia, Botswana and South Africa) will help to identify systematic and possibly, regional gaps in the current methods used to tackle WASH and diarrheal disease.

We have envisioned that co-creation, co-design and community participation will offer a unique research opportunity for the incorporation of local knowledge and novel innovation into the development of strategies, technology and approaches towards improving local WASH knowledge, attitudes and practices with likely increase acceptance rates by local communities.

Why we are here

Specifically, our objectives are to:

Identify national and regional WASH, disease and peri-urban similarities and differences
Work with young locals to identify factors defining peri-urban WASH and analyze the peri-urban WASH ecosystem via ecological theory (implementation of basal CO-CO WASH Model)
Determine residents’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs), coping strategies and likely inequalities in the provision of WASH
Co-create, co-design and later, assess the amended CO-CO WASH Model with young locals and other WASH stakeholders (intra-community)
Identify barriers and enablers to community intervention in peri-urban WASH management and health promotion (intra-community and inter-community)
Development of new inclusive WASH and Health approach suitable for peri-urban in southern Africa.