Process proved product: a case of hygiene project in Bangladesh

This paper deals with a Hygiene Project in Bangladesh, financially supported by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), technically assisted by the UNICEF and implemented by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) of the Government of Bangladesh. The project work started in November 2002 and ended in December 2005. The purpose of the project was to improve hygiene practice and behaviour, especially for the poor, and to contribute to reducing mortality, morbidity and malnutrition caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water related diseases, especially among women and children. The project adopted some participatory mechanisms that helped communities take the lead in planning, implementation and monitoring of the project activities. The project focused much on the community processes that led the community to achieve the project goal as the communities are at the centre of changing their own behaviour on a sustainable basis.