EHP News  August/September 2003

NEPAL–INDIA CROSS BORDER COLLABORATION: STUDY ON POPULATION MOVEMENT ACROSS NEPAL-BIHAR BORDER FOR TREATMENT OF KALA-AZAR AND MALARIA

NICARAGUA: CAPACITY BUILDING OF NGOs IN PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MONITORING

ERITREA VILLAGE PILOT PROGRAM FOR MOSQUITO SOURCE MANAGEMENT

PAHO-EHP PARTNERSHIP FOR HYGIENE BEHAVIOR CHANGE

REDUCING URBAN MALARIA TRANSMISSION IN UGANDA

NEW EHP PUBLICATIONS

• Previous Issues

• Previous Issues by Country

NEPAL–INDIA CROSS BORDER COLLABORATION: STUDY ON POPULATION MOVEMENT ACROSS NEPAL-BIHAR BORDER FOR TREATMENT OF KALA-AZAR AND MALARIA

Kala-azar and malaria have emerged as an increasing burden to India and Nepal in those communities situated along their common border. Inadequate public health services and an open, porous border between the two countries have further exacerbated the problem. To address these issues, a joint meeting was held in Bihar, India, organized by the Department of Health, Government of Bihar, India, and HMG Ministry of Health, Nepal. The meeting was coordinated and facilitated by EHP/Nepal.

At the meeting, a consensus was reached by the participants on six key follow-up activities. One activity was to conduct a study on population movement across the Nepal-Bihar border for treatment of kala-azar and malaria. A protocol is being developed under the activity. The study area will be the Nepal-Bihar border and will focus on households with cases of kala-azar/malaria. The study will look at: characteristics of the border population, their health seeking behavior including reasons for border crossing, and the socio-economic impact of kala-azar and malaria in the Nepal-Bihar border. The findings will be used to identify a coordinated approach to prevention and control strategies. 

NICARAGUA: CAPACITY BUILDING OF NGOs IN PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY MONITORING

In 1999, USAID responded to the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua by supporting a two–year reconstruction program. The program was implemented through EHP. Interventions included provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation services through construction/rehabilitation of community water systems, repair/replacement of household latrines, and hygiene promotion through community mobilization. 

For program sustainability, it is essential that participatory community monitoring (PCM) strategies be integrated into these community-based programs. Therefore, at the end of the two-year program, EHP initiated a partnership with NicaSalud, a consortium of NGOs in Nicaragua, to ensure the monitoring, evaluation and follow-up of the community-based environmental sanitation and hygiene programs. 

Working with NicaSalud, EHP is developing a comprehensive PCM methodology that will be institutionalized. The approach emphasizes capacity building of NicaSalud NGOs in PCM skills and participation by all community stakeholders including women, youth, and households with low socio-economic status. Strategies include development of a training manual, training for consortium NGOs, and appropriate tools for community monitoring of hygiene improvement activities. 

For more information, contact Sarah Fry at [email protected]. 

ERITREA VILLAGE PILOT PROGRAM FOR MOSQUITO SOURCE MANAGEMENT

The Eritrea National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) has long used source reduction and chemical larvicides in its control programs. EHP is helping introduce the use of biologiocal larvicides and is providing assistance to refine protocols that maximize the effectiveness of larval control methods.

With technical support from EHP, the NMCP tested the efficacy of two bacterial larvicides, Bti and Bs, and determined the frequency and dosages required to maintain effective control of mosquito larvae in several types of breeding sites. The NMCP then launched an operational pilot program in four intervention villages and four control villages.

The first year of the pilot has been completed. The procedures proved feasible, and results demonstrate that larvicides were effective in reducing larval and adult mosquito populations within defined areas. The study highlighted the importance of larval management throughout the year, with special emphasis during the dry season, particularly at man-made sites. The pilot program will continue for a second year, during which the NMCP will expand the size of the areas under control and begin implementing larval control interventions in collaboration with village health agents.

PAHO-EHP PARTNERSHIP FOR HYGIENE BEHAVIOR CHANGE

Since 2001, EHP has been collaborating with PAHO in the development, field application and testing of a hygiene behavior change (HBC) strategy for diarrheal disease prevention. Pilot behavior change activities have been initiated within the community-based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (C-IMCI ) framework in Peru and Nicaragua. The strategy being used in the two pilot activities was developed by EHP and used successfully in the Dominican Republic. A key aspect of the strategy includes coordinating and collaborating with respective Ministries of Health to scale-up the pilot HBC process. Plan International is the lead implementing NGO in both countries.

The pilot activities include design, testing and development of HBC materials and activities to promote three key hygiene behaviors (handwashing, safe excreta disposal and use of safe water) and capacity building of a multi-partner, local implementation team to design, plan, implement and monitor a community-based HBC activity. The process also incorporates a consultative approach between HBC promoters from NGOs and community members to enhance community participation and ownership in HBC approaches and targets.

The HBC process guide and products developed in the two pilot activities will be integrated into materials that PAHO is using under its IMCI Initiative throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

For more information, contact Lisa Nichols [email protected] or John Gavin [email protected].

REDUCING URBAN MALARIA TRANSMISSION IN UGANDA

Recent data indicate that malaria is a problem in urban areas in Uganda. EHP is supporting an activity in two cities, Kampala and Jinja, aimed at reducing urban malaria transmission using environmental management.

During the first year of the activity, entomological and parasitological surveys were implemented by EHP in two sites in each city. Additionally, larval breeding sites were mapped. The survey of breeding sites indicated that most breeding takes place in brick pits, puddles and blocked drains. Biting and malaria transmission rates as well as prevalence rates for parasitemia in children six months to five years of age were also assessed. Based on the findings, EHP developed action plans in consultation with communities, local partners and district health authorities to reduce larval breeding in target sites in both cities. The second year will focus on implementation of the action plans.

The activity is co-funded by USAID/Uganda, the Office of Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition in the Bureau of Global Health (USAID/GH/HIDN), and the Office of Urban Programs in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade (USAID/EGAT/ENV/UP).

For more information about the activity, please contact Fred Rosensweig at [email protected] or Gene Brantly at [email protected]. 

NEW EHP PUBLICATIONS

JOINT PUBLICATION 6. USAID VILLAGE WATER AND SANITATION PROGRAM, WEST BANK——ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT——PHASE II

This survey is the second in a series of environmental health assessments conducted for the West Bank Village Water and Sanitation Program. The survey looked at access to and quality of water, health outcomes, and health and hygiene knowledge. This publication, in collaboration with Save the Children, presents the results of this follow-up assessment.

A 1.92 MB PDF version of this joint publication is available at: http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Joint_Publications/JP006-WestBankFollowup.pdf.

For more information or a hard copy, contact [email protected]. 

ACTIVITY REPORT 120. COMBINING HYGIENE BEHAVIOR CHANGE WITH WATER AND SANITATION: MONITORING PROGRESS IN HATO MAYOR, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Two surveys were conducted as part of a hygiene behavior change program monitoring process in nine communities of the municipality of Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic. The surveys were part of a total community participation process in that the team that initiated and implemented the activities participated in the systematic process of ongoing community level data collection. The purpose of these surveys was to provide NGO program managers and communities with timely information about changes in diarrhea prevalence and hygiene behaviors before and after water and hygiene interventions were introduced and to quantify the changes that were plausibly associated with their efforts. This report documents the results of those surveys.

A 555 KB PDF version of this activity report is available at: http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Activity_Reports/AR-120%20EHP%20Hato%20Mayor.pdf.

For more information or a hard copy, contact [email protected]. 

EHP BRIEF 17. WEST BANK VILLAGE WATER AND SANITATION PROGRAM: FINDINGS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS
A 747 KB PDF version of this brief is available at: http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/EHPBriefs/EHPB17.pdf. 

EHP BRIEF 18. PARTICIPATORY MONITORING OF HYGIENE BEHAVIOR CHANGE
IN HATO MAYOR, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
A 712 KB PDF version of this brief is available at: http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/EHPBriefs/EHPB18.pdf.

For more information or a hard copy of the above EHP Briefs, contact [email protected]. 

Previous Issues 

The main topics or countries discussed are given in parentheses.

June/July 2003 Cairo Healthy Neighborhood Program, Strengthening Malaria Surveillance in Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo: Integrating Hygiene Improvement into Primary Health Care, Nepal Handwashing with Soap Initiative, Urban Health Conference in India
May 2003 (Global Health Council Conference 2003 Focuses on Health and the Environment, It’s Back: The Return of Vector Control as a Tool Against Malaria, Mainstreaming Prevention of Diarrhea in Child Health" Healthy Families, Healthy Forests: Integrated Programs, Malaria, Dengue, Cholera: Environmental Strategies for Control and Prevention, Improving Maternal and Child Health in Urban Slums and Squatter Settlements, Environmental Issues in Income Generation and Health)
March 2003 (EHP Nicaragua Program Receives The Robert C. Marini Clientship Grand Award, Sierra Club Honors AVS Coordinator, Cairo Urban Slum Child Health Program, Aga Khan Workshop, Best Practices For Dengue Prevention And Control In The Americas, Dhanusha-Mahottari Vector-Borne Disease Program: Community-Based Prevention And Control Of Kala-Azar, Sanitation In Small Towns: Summary Report on Sub-Regional Workshops, USAID Knowledge Management Inventory)
January 2003 (The West Africa Water Initiative, Lac Regional Workshop On Community IMCI, Reducing Urban Malaria Transmission in Uganda, Lessons Learned from Community Management of Environmental Health in Benin, Urban Environmental Health Pilot Activities in DR Congo, An Enabling Environment for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Systems in the Dominican Republic)
October 2002 (India: Improving Child Health and Nutrition, Hygiene Promotion in the LAC Region, Malaria Control in Eritrea, Congo: Hygiene Improvement, Madagascar: Integrated Health, Population, World Summit on Sustainable Development)
September 2002 (West Africa Environmental Health Assessment, Dissemination Workshop on Latin America Small Town's Sanitation, Ghana Urban Health Assessment, News from BBIN Network, Honduras)
August 2002 (Improving the Early Warning Report System in Nepal, Assessing Sanitation Policies, Post-Mitch Activities in Nicaragua, African Sanitation and Hygiene Conference)
June 2002 (West Bank Environmental Health Assessment, New Publications)
March 2002 (E-Conference on Hygiene Improvement Framework, Latin America and the Caribbean, Larva Control, Nicaragua, Africa Malaria Day)
January 2002 (New EHP Director; Benin; Monitoring Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Activities; Malaria and Vector Control)
November 2001 (EHP Handwashing Publication, West Bank, Asia and the Near East, PAHO–EHP Partnership)
October 2001 (Benin, Sustainable Sanitation in Small Towns, DR Congo, Peru Behavior Change)
August 2001 (India, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, BBIN Network, information exchange network)
June 2001 (Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal, Dominican Republic, indoor air pollution consultation, Nairobi SIMA Conference)
May 2001 (Central America handwashing initiative, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Nepal, Bolivia)
March 2001 (Nicaragua, Madagascar, Africa, DDT cost comparison)
January 2001 (EHP Activities, E-Newsletter, National Malaria Control Programs in 4 African Countries, Congo, Decentralization in Latin America, Peru, WSSCC Forum, Global WS&S Assessment from WHO/UNICEF)
November 2000 (Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, SANICONN)
September 2000 (Nepal/Regional, EHP and E-conferences)
July 2000 (Nicaragua, Malaria Vaccine Development, "Water for the World")
May–June 2000 (Nicaragua, International Consultation on Indoor Air Pollution)
April 2000 (Nicaragua, Madagascar, Mozambique)
March 2000 (Benin, South Africa, Eritrea, Madagascar)
February 2000 (Nicaragua, Paraguay, Ukraine, Mozambique and Eritrea)
January 2000 (Nicaragua, EHP Lessons Learned)

Previous Issues by Country

• Benin

  • January 2002

• Bolivia

  • May 2001

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • May 2001

  • August 2001

• Dominican Republic

  • January 2003

  • June 2001

• Eritrea

  • June/July 2003

  • October 2002

  • February 2000

  • March 2000

  • May 2001

  • August 2001

• India

  • October 2002

  • August 2001

• Madagascar

  • October 2002

  • March 2000

  • April 2000

  • November 2000

  • March 2001

  • June 2001

• Mozambique

  • February 2000

  • April 2000

  • January 2001

  • June 2001

• Nepal

  • June/July 2003

  • February 2000

  • September 2000

  • May 2001

  • June 2001

  • August 2002

• Nicaragua

  • March 2003

  • January 2000

  • February 2000

  • April 2000

  • May/June 2000

  • July 2000

  • November 2000

  • March 2001

  • March 2002

  • August 2002

• Peru

  • January 2001

  • October 2001

• West Bank

  • November 2001

  • June 2002

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