Tongogara refugee camp in Zimbabwe hosts approximately 14,000 refugees predominantly from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). UNHCR is partnering with World Vision and Ranas to develop behaviour change campaigns to promote COVID-19 prevention behaviours.
Our baseline survey revealed that the following key messages should be used to promote physical distancing and handwashing with soap and:
- Keeping a physical distance (PD) away from others and handwashing with soap (HWWS) at key times reduces the spread of the coronavirus
- Important others are doing this (PD and HWWS) every day
- Important others want you to do this every day
- You are able to do this!
- You can become a good example, too – help others to keep PD and HWWS and tell them about the benefits.
These messages were communicated through household visits and reinforced through loudspeaker announcements and social media posts. In addition, tippy tap construction was promoted.
Evaluation of the campaign revealed that the RANAS campaign led to a 16% increase in people keeping physical distance compared to only a 5% increase by the standard campaign. We observed self-constructed tippy taps in 78% of the RANAS group households compared to only 7% in the standard campaign group. In 78% of the RANAS group households, we observed water, and in 52% of the households, soap. Self-reported handwashing after contact with stool increased by 12% in the RANAS group (standard campaign: 2%), before handling food by 9% in the RANAS group (standard campaign: 4%) and after coming home by 14% in the RANAS group (standard campaign: 4%).
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