Awareness on community hygiene is important to help people understand and develop good hygiene practices to maintain health of a community by preventing disease in the community. In many places, particularly in rural areas, knowledge about disease and the germs that cause them is not available. Education on good hygiene practices is a necessary tool to prevent communicable diseases in a community. It has a lasting effect and could dictate state of the health for years to come provided the knowledge is imbibed and practiced by people no matter which segment of the society.
Good hygiene practice not only affects the individual but those around him or her. Unsafe practices by one person in places like a water source can contaminate the water for the whole community leading to widespread disease. Dust can also carry germs and get transported through wind or even direct contact. Outbreaks happen when a common source of water or food for a community gets contaminated leading to outbreaks and even death.
Education on hygiene reminds community members that they are responsible for each other and so they must promote a clean environment. Hand washing, safe disposal of faeces and safe handling of food and water are important parts good practices to learn.
Good hygiene potentially could avert disease and so is a preventive measure to better health than the curative measure which is more expensive.
SLRD recognises the undeniable link between health, water and sanitation and so works at educating its communities on the value of good hygiene as well as providing with solutions to various related issues of water storage and supply, and sanitary toilets.