Emotional demonstrations (emo-demos) are used in behaviour-centred design to trigger behaviour changes, such as handwashing with soap, by creating disgust and shame. This eight-page case study presents the emo-demo for triggering behaviour changes at vaccination centres, which were found to be ideal places to raise awareness of the importance of washing hands with soap among pregnant women, mothers and caregivers.

Globally, preterm birth (PTB) and low infant birth weight (LBW) are leading causes of maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Inadequate water and sanitation access (WASH) are risk factors for PTB and LBW in low-income countries. Physical stress from carrying water and psychosocial stress from addressing sanitation needs in the open may be mechanisms underlying these associations. If so, then living in a community with strong social capital should be able to buffer the adverse effects of WASH on birth outcomes.

The World Health Organisation have developed new guidelines on sanitation and health because current sanitation programmes are not achieving anticipated health gains and there is a lack of authoritative health-based guidance on sanitation. The new guidelines summarise the evidence on the effectiveness of a range of sanitation interventions and provide a comprehensive framework for health-protecting sanitation, covering policy and governance measures, implementation of sanitation technologies, systems and behavioural interventions, risk-based management, and monitoring approaches.