It is estimated that over 1.2 billion people globally lack access to safe clean drinking water and a further 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate and comfortable sanitation. WHO (2005), estimates that 1.6 million die yearly from diarrhea and cholera which have been attributed to inaccessibility to clean drinking water as well as basic sanitation services. 90 % of the figure is from children who are below five years and the trend is rampant in developing countries.

Inadequate knowledge and awareness on the effect of poor sanitation and hygiene is contributing to high mortality and morbidity rates due to faeco-oral diseases especially amongst children. This has been attributed to inadequate training and even the approaches being adopted by the sector professionals. The low level of awareness on hygiene is a major area of concern highlighted in various evaluations that were conducted between 2004 and 2007 including the Output to Purpose Review (OPR) of DFID.

Part of the OPR recommendations was the need to harmonize all the existing Hygiene and Sanitation promotion learning materials to develop a quality manual that would facilitate improved hygiene and sanitation behavior change and ensure achievements of programme objectives in a sustained manner. This course has taken those concerns into consideration and has taken into consideration all the scholarly work that has been done in all the modules.

The course has 10 modules and at the end of every module there is an assignment. After ten assignments, learners are expected to write a research paper with guidance from an online moderator and then an examination done online on the twelfth month. The learner has contact with the moderator through the e-learning platform where there are chats and can even ask for a Skype chat with the moderator to have any issues of concern addressed.

Course objectives

At the end of the course the learner should be able to;

• Have a critical understanding of sanitation, water and hygiene interventions and of the ways in which such projects can impact on health in low income settings;
• Point out the principal pitfalls in health impact measurement, and suggest appropriate alternatives;
• Discuss the wider social, economic, institutional and environmental contexts of water, hygiene and sanitation strategies;
• Appraise the existing evidence for the effectiveness of water, hygiene and sanitation interventions;
• Have a basic understanding of the principles of behavior change in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector and the pros/cons of alternative ways to measure behavior change outcomes;
• Have a basic understanding of the WASH products and services options available and the factors which guide choice of hardware;
• Have a critical appreciation of the importance of behavior change communications and demand promotion/creation strategies tailored to the target population in the planning, implementation and evaluation of water, hygiene and sanitation interventions;
• Apply this understanding to the design, evaluation and critique of such projects.
• Contribute to the development of different approaches to the provision of sustainable and equitable WASH services in developing countries.

Course Content

Modules 1

• Introduction to WASH- Definitions and Concepts
• WASH Priorities in Emergency and development Settings
• Effectiveness of WASH Interventions

Modules 2

• Water and Sustainable Development
• Water and Public Health
• Water Sources and their Characteristics

Module 3

• Water Pollution
• Water Treatment Technologies for Large-scale Water Supply
• Operation and Maintenance of Water Treatment and Supply Systems

Module 4

• Distribution, Leakage and Illegal Connections
• Water Safety Plans
• Duties and Responsibilities of Water Utilities
• Module 5
• Household Water Collection, Treatment, Storage and Handling
• Monitoring Water Quality
• Water Emergencies and Emergency Water Supply
• Introduction to the Principles and Concepts of Hygiene and Environmental Health

Module 6 

• Environmental Health Hazards
• Personal Hygiene
• Healthful Housing

Module 7

• Institutional Hygiene and Sanitation
• Characteristics of Urban Communities
• Environmental Pollution and Health

Module 8

• Existing WASH Service Provision
• Stakeholders in Urban WASH
• Social Accountability and Social Responsibility

Module 9

• Community Engagement
• Introduction to Sanitation and Waste Management
• The Effects of Poor Sanitation and Waste Management

Module 10

• Rapid Assessment of Urban Sanitation and Waste Management
• Storage, Collection, Transfer and Transport of Solid Waste
• Disposal of Solid Wastes

Module 11: Research paper

• You will be required to choose a research topic, share it with the moderator, upon agreement write a proposal, after that do corrections plus writing chapters three, four and five of the whole paper. Guidelines will be provided on the format preferred by the institute.

Module 12: Final examination

Minimum entry requirements

Common regulations governing Post-Graduate Diplomas shall be applicable.

The following shall be eligible for admission.

1. a) Holders of a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized University
2. b) Holders of an equivalent qualification from any other recognized Institution.

Course duration: one year (2 semesters)

Assignments: candidates shall be expected to submit 10 assignments (Continuous Assessment test) that Account to 70 % of their Work and a Project Paper at the Tail end of the course, which accounts to 30 % of the course Work.

Regions Targeted: Global

Courses Fees €1500