Clean Hands, Thriving Children: USAID's Integrated Approach to Early Childhood Development in Cambodia

Summary

Promotion of handwashing practices among children.
Photo credit: Chetra Ten

On Global Handwashing Day, we reflect on the life-saving benefits of this simple, yet powerful practice—. From reducing the transmission of diseases to protecting families from infections, proper hand hygiene is essential for thriving communities. For children, in particular, handwashing is critical to health and development.

Ms. Ros Phal, Community Health Worker on the USAID Integrated Early Childhood Development Program, practices handwashing with her child at a nurturing care session before eating refreshments.
Photo credit: Chetra Ten

In Cambodia, while significant progress has been made in reducing poverty, infant mortality, and disease, over one-third of children under five years old experience delays in language, cognitive, physical, or social-emotional development. The USAID Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) Activity is working to improve outcomes for young children by enhancing their physical, cognitive, and social development; reducing stunting; and providing care and support for children with developmental delays and disabilities.

Caregiver supervising children washing their hands.
Photo credit: Chetra Ten

Hand hygiene is a vital part of disease prevention and a key driver of good nutrition. Good nutrition, in turn, is essential for early childhood development. As part of the Nurturing Care Framework, built around five essential components for child development—good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and opportunities for early learning—IECD emphasizes handwashing as a cornerstone of good health. The project integrates water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, focusing on safe water access, proper sanitation, and ensuring caregivers have the necessary tools, like soap, for handwashing.

The IECD Activity supports caregivers to adopt and promote hand hygiene practices within their households. Clean hands are particularly critical when preparing formula, food, or water for children because germs can be easily spread. Research shows that combining handwashing with nutrition and health interventions leads to lower rates of child stunting, anemia, and intestinal parasitic infections (Shrestha et al. 2020). Proper hand hygiene also reduces the risk of neglected tropical diseases, such as soil-transmitted helminth infections in children (Mahapatra et al. 2020). While access to handwashing facilities with soap is over 90 percent in IECD’s target area, the IECD Chief of Party, John Ames noted, “behavior change is the primary challenge to reducing the health burden from poor hand hygiene. Less than 70 percent of caregivers are washing their hands at the necessary times to ensure their children  are able togrow up in healthy environments."

Through an integrated approach to early childhood development that includes responsive caregiving, early learning, nutrition, health, and support for children with disabilities, USAID’s IECD Activity is fostering an environment where all children can thrive. Handwashing plays a crucial role in this effort, protecting children and families from preventable illnesses and ensuring that every child can reach their full potential.

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USAID Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) Activity
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Mark Radin, John Ames, Katherine King
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