Majority of the population worldwide, particularly children are affected by diseases that are easily treatable and preventable. With a belief that a simple act of Hand washing can save thousands of lives in Nepal, we implemented School based Program with support from UNICEF and Ministry of Health and Population to raise awareness about Hand washing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.

Good hand washing practice can contribute in cutting down the rates of morbidity and mortality especially among children under the age of five. With this rationale in mind, SDPC implemented "School Based Hand Washing with Soap Programme" in 79 VDCs/municipalities in Lalitpur and Kathmandu during September-December, 2011. The major objective of the project was to familiarize school students with key hand washing messages, strengthen their capacity to transfer the knowledge acquired and finally encourage them to take appropriate precautions to prevent infections. To this end SDPC conducted class sessions on hand washing, community awareness events, peer led interventions, promotion of safe hygiene practices. SDPC also focused on capacity building of service providers from health, livestock and WASH sectors for effective implementation of communication and hand washing interventions at community level.

In addition to this, SDPC carried out orientation programmes for Central, District and VDC level staffs, Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) activities along with orientation and mobilization of peer educators to ensure sustainability. Regular monitoring and supervision of the programme activities were also carried out to ensure quality and efficiency in program implementation.