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EHP
News November 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE:
PERU
AND NEPAL: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN HANDWASHING INITIATIVE
INTEGRATING
HEALTH, POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN MADAGASCAR
PROTECTING
AND IMPROVING WATER SOURCES IN JORDAN
DEVELOPING
MALARIA RISK MAPS IN ERITREA
PANAMA:
SANITATION IN SMALL TOWNS WORKSHOP
COP
IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
NEW
EHP PUBLICATIONS
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PERU
AND NEPAL: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN HANDWASHING INITIATIVE
Several studies in different parts of the world have
indicated that proper handwashing at proper times results in diarrhea
reduction. Collectively, studies over the past decade have reported a 33% to
47% reduction in diarrhea from handwashing alone.
In Peru, the Ministry of Health together with USAID, the
World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), CDC, UNICEF and other public
and private partners are working together on the design and implementation
of a public-private partnership in handwashing initiative. The initiative is
based on the concept that private commercial firms and public entities would
find it mutually beneficial to work in partnership to achieve complementary
goals of promoting handwashing for public health. USAID, through EHP, has
initiated consumer research and baseline field work in Peru as a first step
in designing a public-private partnership for handwashing with soap
campaign. EHP has subcontracted a local research firm, PRISMA, to conduct
the research.
Similarly, in Nepal, USAID, through EHP, and UNICEF/Nepal
are collaborating to implement a public-private partnership in handwashing
with soap initiative. A local research firm, VARG, subcontracted by EHP, has
completed the baseline research. Results from the market research will be
used to design an effective media/communications program. The initiative has
been able to recruit both large, multi-national and small, regional soap
manufacturers to participate. Regional stakeholders' meetings have been held
to introduce the initiative and to garner support from various
organizations. The initiative's products and approach will be disseminated
through UNICEF/Nepal's school sanitation and community programs.
For more on the handwashing initiative, contact Lisa Nichols
at [email protected].
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INTEGRATING
HEALTH, POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN MADAGASCAR
Recognizing the nexus between health and environment as a
crucial element for achieving sustainable development, USAID is supporting a
consortium of NGOs and supporting organizations under Voahary Salama (VS),
the NGO umbrella organization that leads the community-centered, integrated
health, population and environment program along Madagascar's forest
corridors.
EHP helped establish VS as a mechanism to coordinate
integrated activities and provided support and assistance in the
institutionalization of VS. VS is now a legal association. It is gaining
increasing international exposure as a prime example of integrated
programming, and EHP and VS received the Population and Environment Pioneers
and Leadership award in 2002. VS partners serve 120,000 people in 160 remote
rural communities.
In the program, social marketing approaches are
implemented through community resources and NGO structures. The approaches
are built around an "innovator model" that uses early adopters of
positive practices in the community as role models. Two video documentaries
produced in 2003 portray the "champion community" approach. The
champion community approach is one of the most successful social marketing
approaches for engaging communities in setting their own development goals
in population, health and the environment.
Preliminary data in Madagascar show substantial
improvements of key health indicators: lead NGOs reported a more than
twofold increase in contraceptive prevalence rates from less than 10% to
over 20%; severe malnutrition rates of children under five dropped from 13%
to 5%; and vaccination coverage increased from 41% to 93%.
For more information, contact Eckhard Kleinau at [email protected].
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PROTECTING
AND IMPROVING WATER SOURCES IN JORDAN
USAID/Jordan is funding an initiative to protect and
improve water sources in Jordan and thereby safeguard previous
infrastructure investments and protect public health.
The first phase of the initiative, the Jordan Water
Quality Management Project, was implemented by Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM),
from March 2002 to January 2003, in close partnership with the Ministry of
Water (MWI), Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Ministry of Health. The
first phase focused on problem analysis of Jordan's water management system
and identified areas for improvement.
EHP (through CDM) is currently implementing the second
phase of the initiative. Based on priority problems identified in Phase I,
Phase II focuses on three tasks: (1) watershed protection including the
implementation of a pilot program; (2) laboratory quality assurance/quality
control; and (3) operations and maintenance at selected WAJ treatment
facilities.
The watershed protection task is based on findings from
Phase I that indicated spring water in five watersheds contained elevated
concentrations of coliforms and nitrates and concluded that domestic
wastewater is the primary source of groundwater pollution.
For more information on the Jordan watershed/water quality
management program, please contact Chitra Parameswar at [email protected].
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DEVELOPING
MALARIA RISK MAPS IN ERITREA
Eritrea is prone to severe malaria epidemics, and malaria
is a leading cause of hospital and health center admissions and in-patient
deaths in both children and adults. The decentralized malaria control
program in Eritrea is managed by zonal coordinators, who have an established
historical practice of using hand-drawn malaria maps.
With technical assistance from EHP, USAID is supporting
the development, testing and using of malaria risk maps in Eritrea. Models
for the spatial stratification of malaria risk in Eritrea have been
developed and tested, and the most robust model has been identified, which
employs only three variables: data from the Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa
(MARA) model of malaria seasonality; land use; and altitude.
The model was presented by EHP at GeoMed, an international
conference showcasing the latest tool developments, research and
accomplishments in the application of geo-spatial analysis in public health.
The conference was held at the University of Maryland Medical School,
October 15-17.
For more information on malaria risk maps in Eritrea, please
contact Gene Brantly at [email protected].
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PANAMA:
SANITATION IN SMALL TOWNS WORKSHOP
Sanitation in small towns is a growing and important
problem. Very few small towns in Latin America have managed to provide
sustainable sanitation services. This can be attributed to multiple factors
including lack of demand for sanitation, an inadequate policy framework, and
limited institutional capacity to effectively manage sanitation systems.
Over the past two years, EHP has developed a methodology
for designing a sanitation plan for small towns, field tested the
methodology in three countries, and actively disseminated the results of
this activity in the region. One of the field tests was in La Cabima, a
community of 14,000 residents within the Panama Canal Watershed.
With support from USAID, EHP organized a national-level
workshop in Panama related to sanitation in small towns. The purpose of the
workshop was to discuss and agree upon the framework for a national
plan/strategy to improve sanitation in small towns specific to Panama, based
on the La Cabima experience. The workshop was attended by 41 participants
from national and local governments and NGOs. The workshop resulted in a
higher level of awareness about the problem and initial discussions about
addressing the problem on the national level. The plan is now being
implemented with prospects for funding likely.
For information on workshops or on small town sanitation,
contact Fred Rosenswieg at [email protected].
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COP IN
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
The EHP Information Center has created a trial Environmental
Health Blog at http://EHUpdates.blogspot.com.
A Blog is a regularly updated, online, information and news
journal and includes links to full text articles, study abstracts, news items,
questions, opinions, etc. It is also a tool for creating a community of
practice (COP)--a community of professionals and experts with a common vision
and interest. What sets Blogs apart from other online writing is their dynamic
nature (as opposed to static web pages). A Blog thrives on multiple, regular
contributors posting information, news, opinions, etc.
The Environmental Health Blog focuses on water, sanitation,
hygiene improvement and integrated vector management for malaria prevention
and control. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to join
our Community of Practice in Environmental Health. You will be assigned a
username and a password to enable you to contribute information to the Blog.
Feedback on the Blog is also welcome.
For information, contact
[email protected].
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NEW
EHP PUBLICATIONS
Activity
Report 121. Nepal: Analysis of Baseline Survey Data on Japanese Encephalitis,
Kala-azar and Malaria
This
report analyzes potential risk factors for malaria, kala-azar and Japanese
encephalitis across various household/population groups in Nepal. The survey
included a socio-behavioral survey, an entomological survey with household and
peri-household vector collection, and a clinical survey with blood sample
collection. The report analyzes survey findings and identifies interventions
for the three vector-borne diseases.(download
542 KB PDF file)
For
more information or a hard copy, contact [email protected].
EHP
Brief 19. The Nepal Survey on Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis and Kala-azar
(download
507 KB PDF)
For
more information or a hard copy, contact [email protected].
Highlights
from the Sixth Annual Assessment and Mid-term Review Workshop on Malaria
Control in Eritrea
This
is a mission-funded report, which includes an overview and an annex of the
PowerPoint presentations from the Annual Workshop on Malaria Control in
Eritrea. (download
1.3 MB PDF)
For
more information or a hard copy, contact [email protected]
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Previous
Issues
The main topics or countries
discussed are given in parentheses.
August/September
2003 (Nepal-India
Cross Border Collaboration, 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)
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
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