[Health education and population participation]

Health education involves far more than the mere transmission of a message or the sharing of information. It aims at modifying the behaviour which one seeks to obtain and concerns the participation of the people in the planning process, the installation, the usage, the maintenance and the repairs of a piped water system, and in sanitation. To obtain such a participation, one must know the population concerned and respect its beliefs and traditions. Knowing the people and respecting their beliefs is a first step before one tries to introduce the strategies on which health education is based: organization, training, transmission of messages. The people are divided in groups according to their preparedness to participate. The regional allocation of resources by the central authorities will determine the possibility to implement these strategies. It is always easier to begin in a community which has already had some successful experience in participation.