• Woreda water experts provide operation and maintenance to water supply and sanitation facilities and their systems.
• Private operators supply WASH products such as sanitary pads to communities.
• The Health Development Army share their knowledge of the benefits of handwashing with their neighbours.

HEWs’ main responsibility is to promote safe hygiene and sanitation practices in communities. When successful, their effort changes the norms and behaviour of the community. The most important changes occur in the construction of improved latrines, in the practice (how and when) of handwashing, household water treatment, safe water handling at home, personal hygiene and solid waste collection.

Private service providers deliver important services and products to their customers or communities. These include improved slabs and vent pipes for latrines, soaps for handwashing and personal hygiene, sachets and chemicals for water treatment, menstrual pads for adolescent girls and women, and others.

The HEWs’ work creates the demand for the products by private providers and strengthens a favourable market condition. However, if private providers are not able to provide the products, the community will not be able to implement the safe hygiene and sanitation practices encouraged by HEWs. You can see that HEWs or private providers alone cannot achieve improved WASH conditions in urban communities, but it is the joint effort that makes a difference.

You may have answered with any three of the following:

• Introduce yourself and put participants at ease.
• Clearly explain the purpose of the meeting and check that everyone agrees with the agenda.
• Set ground rules such as listening, respect for ideas, and not interrupting while others are speaking. This is very important when conflicting ideas or interests are expected.
• Encourage participation from everyone present.
• Keep to the agreed agenda and objectives of the meeting.
• Build towards actions. In the discussion, ensure that ideas and suggestions do not only focus on problems and the past, but on practical solutions that can be put into action.
• Develop a plan that involves a clear list of action items and identifies one responsible body or person to implement the action. If necessary, identify additional stakeholders who can give support. Agree on a reasonable time to complete the action. The facilitator must ensure that this is done with the participation of all, and is agreed by all.
• Arrange a follow-up meeting. Before the end of the meeting, it is very important to agree on a follow-up mechanism and its timing. Usually a meeting can be arranged to review the progress on the actions. This can be arranged at the middle of the period where all actions are expected to be finished. A final meeting is also important to learn from challenges and multiply successes to address other WASH-related problems in the community.