Handy in a crisis
Editing a technical resource for a global multi-sector coalition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BRIEF
I edited the Handwashing Handbook, a comprehensive technical resource that was published in October 2020 by the Global Handwashing Partnership, a multi-sector coalition whose steering committee and member organizations include Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Colgate-Palmolive, UNICEF, Unilever, and the World Bank.
OBJECTIVE
The Handwashing Handbook was developed as a comprehensive technical resource that offers guidance on strengthening local systems and implementing successful programs to change handwashing behaviour in a variety of contexts. This edition updates the approaches shared in the previous Handwashing Handbook, which was published in 2005 by the World Bank
TARGET AUDIENCE
Handwashing champions in government, civil society, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations around the world.
BACKGROUND & TIMELINE
This handbook was prepared and developed by the Global Handwashing Partnership secretariat. It is dedicated to Professor Val Curtis, a world-renowned hygiene champion whose pioneering research shaped the world’s understanding of human behaviour.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when little was known about the new virus. handwashing was the first line of defence to prevent its spread.
Working collaboratively from our homes around the world, under extremely tight deadlines, a multitude of scientists shared their insights, expertise, and technical contributions into a compiled document. I provided final proofreading, rewriting, and substantive technical editing. The Handwashing Handbook was masterfully designed by my colleague, design mentor, and reporting team member Mike Grant, Senior Designer at CAWST.
DELIVERABLES
A fully edited Handwashing Handbook.
My name appears in the credits on page 5.
RESULTS
I edited the Global Handwashing Partnership’s Handwashing Handbook, which was launched in October 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as an all-in-one resource for implementing successful handwashing behaviour change programs.
It was an honour to work on this project during a worldwide health crisis that affected most of us in deeply personal ways.
