WASHmobile: Developing Equitable Approaches to Deliver a Hygiene mHealth Program to Reduce Cholera in a Humanitarian Context in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Principal Investigator: Dr. Christine Marie George – RGHI Senior Fellow
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Cholera is a severe diarrhoea that if left untreated, can result in death. Worldwide, there are estimated to be 2.9 million cholera cases annually.
Currently, there is a major cholera outbreak in the African region, including 13 countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has one of the highest rates of cholera cases in Africa. Lack of handwashing with soap and reheating, and safely storing food are risk factors for cholera. Furthermore, humanitarian crises such as protracted conflict can lead to the displacement of large populations to overcrowded camps with poor water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, increasing the risk of cholera. Globally, there are estimated to be 53.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), with 5.6 million IDPs in DRC due to ongoing conflict (highest in Africa). This study proposes to design, implement, and evaluate a scalable hygiene program which promotes equity and social inclusion to deliver in IDP camps in DRC to reduce cholera outbreaks in this setting by increasing handwashing with soap and safe food hygiene practices.
The first study objective is to conduct research in partnership with IDPs to design equitable approaches for delivery of a hygiene mobile health program in IDP camps.
The second objective is to conduct a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of this program on hygiene behaviour and diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory illness. Our goal is to develop effective scalable strategies for delivering hygiene programs for cholera control in IDP camps which can be integrated into the National Cholera Control Strategy in DRC.
The findings from this study have the potential to benefit the 5.6 million IDPs in DRC at high risk of cholera. Furthermore, the methods utilised in this study can be applied to other setting globally to develop equitable approaches which engage communities to increase hygiene behaviours in IDP camps.
