Guidelines for developing and evaluating education materials in water and sanitation programmes

Educational materials, produced to support sanitation and water programmes, are only worth the money spent on them if they are well conceived and part of an integrated programme of delivery. To gain a better understanding of the nature and role of sound educational materials related to sanitation and water programmes, the National Sanitation Coordinating Office (NaSCO) in South Africa, commissioned this guideline document for anyone, such as sanitation coordinators, social consultants or training agents, who may commission or produce educational materials. The guidelines stress the importance of considering the overall health promotion programme when developing an education programme linked to sanitation and water provision, of recognizing that on its own an education programme is unlikely to promote better health in a community, and of developing a multi-faceted health education programme which includes a face-to-face component. The document contains a checklist of questions to ask before developing education materials. This is followed by a summary of the process of developing quality educational materials which includes notes on research, developing a message, planning distribution, choosing an appropriate format, writing and editing, translations, illustrations, printing and evaluation.