Archive for the ‘WASH’ category

Common Ground: Dialogue between the NTD and WASH sectors, for World Water Day and beyond

March 22nd, 2012

The author talking with rural community members in Rwanda to locate community water sources. (Credit: S. Ogden)

By Stephanie Ogden, WASH/NTD Consultant, Emory’s Center for Global Safe Water, Children Without Worms, International Trachoma Initiative

2012 marks my tenth year celebrating World Water Day. I’ve worked in and with the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector since my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural El Salvador almost a decade ago. Since that time, I’ve worked with many organizations in Latin America, Africa and Central Asia helping to improve rural access to water and sanitation in order to promote health and encourage long-term development.  I continue to work in the WASH sector, and this year, I have the opportunity to experience my tenth World Water Day from the point of view of an advocate for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) sector.

This opportunity is the result of a new partnership between Emory University’s Center for Global Safe Water, Children Without Worms (CWW) and the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI). These three organizations have committed to a partnership that will encourage actionable dialogue and increased coordination between the NTD and WASH sectors. In my role as WASH/NTD consultant, my objective is to find ways to bridge the gap between these two sectors and identify opportunities for collaboration.

The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases in January provided an important catalyst for dialogue. The Declaration solidified a global public-private partnership to eliminate or control 10 neglected tropical diseases by 2020. By calling for the development of sustainable control programs for these diseases, the NTD sector has effectively pledged commitment to work towards elimination or control of 10 NTDS. » Read more: Common Ground: Dialogue between the NTD and WASH sectors, for World Water Day and beyond

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Posted in NTDs, WASH, Water and Sanitation

How the outhouse saved the South and what it can do for the world’s bottom billion

January 26th, 2012

Last century, the invention of the outhouse helped to eliminate hookworm and other parasites in the United States. Now new research shows that the lowly latrine could be a powerful tool in controlling these diseases, which remain widespread among the world’s poorest people.

It’s pretty simple. Whether people use it or just have access to it, the latrine could help save hundreds of millions of people from disabling disease. So concludes researchers from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, who found that in study sites, latrines halved the risk of infection from three common intestinal parasites- hookworm, roundworm and whipworm. Their research was published earlier this week in PLoS Medicine.

Hookworm, roundworm and whipworm- known collectively as the soil-transmitted helminthes or STH’s- are transferred from person to person through contact with feces-contaminated soil. It makes sense then that latrines or toilets would have a major impact on reducing transmission. This isn’t exactly a new idea. Today STH’s are most common in developing countries where there is limited access to clean water and basic sanitation. It wasn’t that long ago though that STH’s were a major problem here in the US, especially in the American South. It was the invention of the outhouse, in combination with anti-helminthes treatments, that helped eradicate these diseases. » Read more: How the outhouse saved the South and what it can do for the world’s bottom billion

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Posted in hookworm, NTDs, WASH