Identifying stakeholders and capacities required for the roll-out of hand hygiene initiatives at state level and below : Mayurbhanj and Ganjam, Odisha

The report examines and assesses the institutional mechanisms, procedures, resource allocation and expenditure for hand hygiene at all levels (from state to village) in Odisha, India. It identifies the bottlenecks and suggests a set of policy / programme recommendations for strengthening hygiene practices. Research was conducted in two districts: the tribal dominated Mayurbhan district and the coastal district of Ganjam. The report analyses the hand hygiene infrastructure; knowledge and practices; local government initiatives; the capacities of duty bearers and key functionaries; and the challenges they faced while promoting hand hygiene. It then reviews government initiatives to promote hand hygiene at the village and panchayat level in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The report concludes with recommendations on hand hygiene in public places and institutions; hand hygiene in the local governance process; hand hygiene promotion strategy; and departmental convergence and data transparency. An annex includes questionnaires for focus group discussions and key informant interviews.

The assessment used a mixed method approach, which included quantitative and qualitative data. The report is an outcome of the project on "Assessing financial possibilities in existing schemes and capacity requirements for hygiene programming in India", supported by the UNICEF India Country Office.