The WSSCC-Bangladesh Coalition implemented a WASH Radio Campaign to reach underserved and marginalized groups with positive messages about water, sanitation, and hygiene issues. The campaign’s goal was to contribute to achieve total sanitation coverage by 2013, a target set by the Government.
From November 2009 to April 2010, the WASH radio programme was on air every Thursday evening for fifteen minutes through the national radio network Bangladesh Betar. The programme sought to:
- raise awareness about sanitation, hygiene behaviour, and waterborne diseases;
- sensitize Bangladeshis to Community-Led Total Sanitation approaches; and
- generally enhance dissemination of WASH information across the country.
Programming of the campaign was varied. For example, programmes included WASH news, interviews, theme songs, jingles, and dramatizations of real life issues about a range of topics like sanitation problems in urban and rural areas, the importance of personal hygiene for well-being, government allocations to achieve total sanitation, and empowering individuals to start community initiatives.
This participatory, grassroots approach was a central theme of the campaign, and the radio programme particularly showcased the stories of ordinary people and their communities. Participation was built into the programming as well: listeners were encouraged to participate via a quiz game at the end of every episode.
The audience was enthusiastic about the quiz and programmes in general: people sent hundreds of letters with positive feedback to the radio station during the course of the broadcasts.
