On May 16, 2011, the Center for Global Development hosted an event for Michael Kremer and Sarah Baird to present data on their long-term follow-up research study called “Worms at Work: Long-run Impacts of Child Deworming in Kenya.” Other authors on the paper include Joan Hamory Hicks and Edward Miguel). This paper concludes that deworming in Kenyan schools can show significant, long-term gain in employment and earnings and among dewormed children. Continue reading
By: Amanda Miller
Many of us don’t think about infectious tropical diseases in the United States or Europe – but it was less than a couple hundred years ago that a cholera epidemic spread throughout Europe. One outbreak in September 1854 killed over 500 people in just ten days. A search for the cause and cure was unsuccessful.
Photo taken from http://johnsnow.matrix.msu.edu/
Dr. John Snow then developed a theory of cholera transmission that was contradictory to other accepted beliefs – transmission of cholera was due to drinking water contamination. He mapped cholera cases and found that they had taken place near the infamous Broad Street pump. By providing one of the earliest examples of epidemiological research, Dr. Snow made one of the first known connections between water and disease.
It makes perfect sense to us these days that you can get very sick from contaminated water. It’s the first thing people say when traveling to other countries – “don’t drink the water.” Yet think of a world just a couple hundred years ago where we didn’t quite understand why people were getting sick.
So what’s the big deal? And what does it have to do with NTDs?
Well, we have the ability to think about NTDs through many different lenses. One is through treatment and reducing prevalence. Another is routine preventative chemotherapy through mass drug administration. And yet another is through long-term solutions like water and sanitation. But is one good without the other?
Photo taken by author
We know that poor sanitation and contaminated water contributes to the transmission of NTDs. Of the seven most common NTDs, the transmission of six is directly related to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene.
This is why water, sanitation, or hygiene (WASH) becomes a key factor in NTD initiatives. Of course, long-term solutions are expensive and complicated. Behavior change is slow, and infrastructure building is even slower. But since we found out 200 years ago that water is inextricably linked to many infectious diseases in developing countries, isn’t it time we focused on the root cause? It all points towards clean water and sanitation.
If Dr. Snow hadn’t pulled the handle off of the Broad Street pump in the middle of a cholera epidemic, how many more people would have died before we figured out what to do?
Amanda Miller is the Asia Program Officer for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. Amanda has public health experience in Rwanda and Botswana, and in her free time enjoys knitting.
By: Amanda Miller
If you celebrate Christmas or any other holiday taking place around this time, and you’re reading this instead of hanging out with family or opening presents or eating a lot of food, it’s highly possible that you’re a global health guru. Or you could be my mom. Either way is fine, because I am writing this blog post because today is Christmas. And that makes me think of neglected tropical diseases.
I recognize that may not seem totally normal. But here’s the correlation. Holidays are for family and friends, eating, laughing, playing and acting silly, and getting mad at your strange relatives who are probably equally as mad at their strange relatives (i.e. you), and playing with nieces and nephews. Over much trial and error, I’ve realized over the years that holidays are simply more fun when my nephews are around. They get excited, they’re happy, they smile, they want to play with you, and they say goofy things. They’re curious and inquisitive. They are, for all intents and purposes, a whole heck of a lot of fun. Continue reading
By: Amanda Miller
The World Bank released a news report yesterday stating that inadequate sanitation costs India 6.4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006, totaling US$53.8 billion. The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India report is due out later this year from the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), a global partnership administered by the World Bank. The study analyzed evidence including costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, as well as losses in education, productivity, and tourism.
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