Health Humanities Outreach (H₂O) Initiative

Our novel Health Humanities Outreach (H₂O) initiative, which was started in 2017, is a multidisciplinary intervention that provides the grounds for the collaborative convergence of Science and the Arts towards the delivery of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 3 and 6 in sub-Saharan Africa. The H₂O initiative, represents a sustainable international collaboration for the purpose of understanding and improving the impacts of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) on reducing human health risks using evidence-based microbiology and participatory theatre.

The initiative has five key components:

1. Gender and WASH surveys (Pre-intervention and post-intervention).
2. Awareness creation, acceptance boosting and advocacy via media and theatre for development (TfD).
3. The 3Ts training workshops: Teaching on water quality, internationally approved tests for contamination, and affordable treatment options.
4. Creation of Water Source and Quality Monitoring Committee (WSQMC) for community-led water governance.
5. Human health risks assessment and One Health antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance.