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EHP News  March 2002



E-CONFERENCE ON HYGIENE IMPROVEMENT FRAMEWORK

EHP is facilitating an electronic forum on the Hygiene Improvement Framework (HIF). EHP's partner in this on-line conference is the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. The conference is part of a series of discussions leading to the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, March 2003. The e-conference on the HIF will run from March 1 through March 29, 2002.

The HIF, developed by EHP, is an integrated approach that combines access to hardware, hygiene promotion, and enabling environments. The strong underlying message is that all three components must be included if water supply and sanitation (WS&S) projects are to have a greater impact on health. The framework builds upon what has been learned from over 20 years of WS&S programming and seeks to establish WS&S programs more firmly as part of comprehensive efforts to improve the health of children.

The conference has been organized as follows:

March 18: Presentation and discussion of the HIF

March 1115: Sharing field examples of integrating hygiene promotion into WS&S projects

March 1822: Discussion of the implications of the HIF for designing and implementing WS&S projects

March 2529: Next steps and summary

The HIF discussion paper and presentation are on the EHP Web site at: http://www.ehproject.org/Pubs/GlobalHealth/GHCArticle.htm

Subscribe to the conference at: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=hygiene-behaviour&A=1


LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: 
SMALL-TOWN SANITATION

Together with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the USAID Water Team, EHP is implementing an activity focused on sanitation improvement in small towns. Small towns in LAC typically have populations between 5,000 and 30,000.  EHP has developed a step-by-step methodology that can be used by a local consultant team to develop a plan to provide sustainable sanitation services. The goal is to implement a sanitation plan that is financially sustainable, protects the environment, maximizes health benefits, and is equitable.

Three small towns in LAC have been identified for field-testing the methodology. The field-testing has been completed in Macara, Ecuador, under the USAID Southern Border Project, implemented by a CARE-led consortium. Beginning in mid-March, field testing will take place in La Cabima, Panama, under the overall coordination of the Interinstitutional Commission of the Canal Watershed and the Panama Canal Authority. The third pilot activity will be in White Horses, Jamaica, under the Ministry of Water and Housing through the Inter-American Development Bank Rural Water Project.

After completion of field tests in May, EHP will finalize the methodology and disseminate it via two subregional workshops. One workshop will be in the Andean region, and one will be in Central America. The workshops are expected to take place in September or October 2002.

For information on the activity, please contact Fred Rosensweig ([email protected]).

SYMPOSIUM ON LARVA CONTROL IN 
INTEGRATED VECTOR MANAGEMENT

In malaria control programs in Africa, larva control is often misunderstood and often a misuse of scarce resources. Conversely, it is also often a missed opportunity, particularly in �fringe� and periurban situations where there are large human concentrations and where breeding sites are limited and identifiable.

EHP continues to work with the World Health Organization and other partners to develop strategies for more rational vector control, tailored to specific ecological and programmatic contexts.

As part of this effort, EHP will convene a symposium in Kampala, Uganda, from 22 to 24 April 2002, entitled "Larva Control in the Context of Integrated Vector Management for Malaria Control.�  The symposium will assemble researchers, program managers, policymakers, and commercial partners to share their understanding of existing information on efficacy and programmatic effectiveness, to determine a framework for filling information gaps, and ultimately to articulate the conditions and methods by which larva control, including environmental management, can make a cost-effective and sustainable public health impact in Africa.

For more information, contact Michael Macdonald ([email protected]) or Gene Brantly ([email protected]).

PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF HURRICANE MITCH VICTIMS 
IN NICARAGUA

EHP recently completed the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Environmental Health Reconstruction Program--a USAID-funded activity to protect and improve the health status of families affected by Hurricane Mitch in rural or resettled population centers in Nicaragua. Strategies included increasing sustainable water supply and sanitation services, improving hygiene behavior, and providing community organization and education programs for populations in affected areas. 

EHP worked with six private voluntary organizations that were already established in Nicaragua before the hurricane. EHP provided grants, management, and technical oversight to support these organizations as they worked with communities, conducting hygiene education programs and reconstructing or building water and sanitation systems.

The activity exceeded its objectives, reaching an estimated 215,000 beneficiaries and resulting in significant improvements in hygiene practices and health. A significant impact of the activity was the adoption of what environmental health director of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health termed a "new paradigm," shifting from interventions consisting solely of water and sanitation measures to interventions in preventive health that incorporate a central focus on water and sanitation.

EHP Activity Report 106, Nicaragua: Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Environmental Health Program (http://www.ehproject.org/Pubs/Activity_Reports.htm), provides a detailed account of this activity.

AFRICA MALARIA DAY 2002: MOBILIZING COMMUNITIES TO 
ROLL BACK MALARIA

Africa celebrates Africa Malaria Day next month, on April 25!

This year, the theme for the day is "Mobilizing Communities to Roll Back Malaria and Taking Malaria Prevention and Treatment to the Home." Africa Malaria Day will also celebrate the role of the community-level caregivers--the community health workers, the mothers, the shopkeepers, the traditional practitioners who often provide the first point of contact for people struck by malaria who live in remote, underserved areas. Africa Malaria Day 2002, which marks the second anniversary of the Abuja Declaration, will highlight, reward, and celebrate the work done by people in the community, whose efforts often go unrewarded and unrecognized.

The World Wide Web site for Africa Malaria Day is: http://www.rbm.who.int/amd/abuja2002_first.htm

Previous Issues 

The main topics or countries discussed are given in parentheses.

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")
MayJune 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

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Last modified November 25, 2002