Category Archives: WASH

Partnering Together on World Water Day

NTDs, WASH, Water and Sanitation,

 

WWD4At least 2.5 billion people around the world lack access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This means 2.5 billion people are susceptible to diseases like cholera, pneumonia, malaria, diarrheal disease and a group of parasitic and bacterial infections referred to as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) — including blinding trachoma, schistosomiasis (a deadly parasitic disease carried by snails) and intestinal worms. These diseases cause malnutrition, disability, delayed cognitive development and even death. They also increase the likelihood of contracting other diseases such as HIV/ and tuberculosis.

The adverse impact of dirty water and poor hygiene and sanitation reaches far beyond health. The diseases that stem from a lack of WASH keep children out of school and prevent parents from working, thereby decreasing human capital, worker productivity and gross domestic product. However,  by addressing these diseases together with WASH, we can work to alleviate poverty and promote development worldwide.

The consequences of dirty water and poor sanitation are massive, but by joining together on World Water Day, our collective voices can lend urgency to an issue affecting almost one third of the world’s population.

In order to achieve the biggest impact, we’re challenging policy makers and the global community to make connections between multiple global health issues and water and, to think more broadly when it comes to initiating WASH programs.

The U.S. Congress has begun to recognize the close connection between clean, safe water and the overall health of men, women and children across the developing world.  But going a step further to examine how development policies around water and sanitation might broaden to include targeted health components (such as treatment for NTDs) is an important next step. Doing so makes good programmatic and financial sense—a valuable commodity in this budgetary climate.

As members of the global health community, we want to end the needless suffering of the world’s most vulnerable populations due to preventable illness and disease. World Water Day provides all of us with an opportunity to work together to achieve a common goal:  A healthy and more prosperous world for everyone.

To view our World Water Day Infographic in full-size, click the image below:

World Water Day

Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Toilet for Granted on World Toilet Day

schistosomiasis, WASH, Water and Sanitation, , ,

 

Photo by Flickr user SuSanA Secretariat

Photo by Flickr user SuSanA Secretariat

If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you’ve used a toilet recently. It’s also likely you’ve never really considered how fortunate you are to have access to that toilet. Could you imagine what it would be like to leave your house in the middle of the night to relieve yourself outside rather than inside the safety and privacy of a clean bathroom stall?

Today is World Toilet Day and we’re recognizing the 2.5 billion people around the world who do not have access to a toilet (that’s about 1/3 of the world’s population!). The magnitude of this problem is significant.  Without a toilet, people are forced to defecate outside – an act that compromises a person’s dignity, privacy and safety, and leaves billions susceptible to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections such as roundworm, hookworm and whipworm are easily spread in communities that do not have access to toilets or sanitation facilities. Schistosomiasis spreads when infected people urinate or defecate close to a water source, contaminating it with the larvae of the parasite. Without proper infrastructure (toilets and city utilities) more than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated — polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas and promoting the spread of NTDs.

Simply walking barefoot around this polluted and contaminated water leaves people exposed to NTDs. As a result, people can be continually re-infected as they work, play, bathe or eat. Children especially have a high risk of contracting these diseases because they often play barefoot outside and put their hands in their mouths without washing them.

According to the World Health Organization, improving water, sanitation and hygiene can reduce trachoma by 27 percent, and improved sanitation could reduce schistosomiasis by as much as 77 percent.

By combining NTD treatment, hygiene education and creative solutions for the 2.5 billion people without access to toilets, we can tackle this problem. Important work is being done by several partner organizations to promote better water, sanitation and hygiene worldwide. The Global Network is also happy to work with former president of Ghana John A. Kufuor to promote long term NTD solutions by integrating mass drug administration with programs for water, sanitation and hygiene – a message the former president drove home at this year’s World Water Week in Stockholm, sweeden.

To learn more about the links between clean water, sanitation and NTDs, watch our quick video . 

Cholera and Health Inequity in Latin America and the Caribbean discussed on Capitol Hill

Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, WASH, , ,

 

Photo by Olivier Asselin

Photo by Olivier Asselin

By Raquel Corona-Parra

Health issues in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) were featured on Capitol Hill last week during two briefing sessions discussing the regional inequities in health and the cholera epidemic in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Tackling Health Inequity in Latin America

“Public Health in Latin America,” was hosted by Representative Sam Farr of California on Wednesday, October 23rd as part of an ongoing monthly briefing series called “Latin America on the Rise.” The series features a diverse group of speakers responsible for addressing emerging and emergent issues in the Western Hemisphere.

Dr. Carissa Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), said despite health achievements in the region, such as the elimination of polio and small pox and the recent WHO verification of onchocerciasis elimination in Colombia, the region remains characterized by significant health inequities.

“Despite the progress, the region is characterized by large differences in the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. This inequity among and within countries not only threatens the public’s health, it threatens human rights, economic prosperity, sustainable development, and stability throughout the region.”

Amanda Glassman, Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, spoke primarily of the reasons behind the health inequities among and within LAC countries. She stressed that poor health and nutrition are a serious concern, especially considering that health is a main driver of growth and security. Innovative policies are in place to address these issues, such as conditional cash transfers and the Salud Mesoamerica 2015 Initiative (a collaboration between the Carlos Slim Health Institute, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank). However, more needs to be done, and she called on the government of the United States to increase its involvement with these issues in a framework of cooperation.

Conquering Cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

The event on Thursday October 24th, titled “Conquering Cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic: The Untold Story of Progress,” provided members of Congress, their staff and partners in health issues an update on the status of the control efforts of the cholera epidemic on the Island of Hispaniola.

The cholera outbreak in Haiti and the Dominican Republic began in late 2010 – just a few months after the catastrophic earthquake devastated Haiti. Prior to this outbreak, cholera had not been reported in Haiti for more than 100 years. Around 715,000 people have gotten sick from the disease and more than 8,000 deaths have been attributed to the epidemic – with cases spreading to Cuba and Mexico.

Dr. Carissa Etienne stressed that although the oral cholera vaccine has helped, improvements in water and sanitation are essential for the epidemic to be stopped.

The event was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Karen A. Goraleski, Executive Director of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Panelists included Dr. Katherine Bliss (Center for Strategic & International Studies), Dr. Rick Gelting (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Dr. Ralph Ternier (Partners In Health) and Elynn Walter (WASH Advocates).

As a response to the epidemic, several initiatives and programs were formed to tackle disease surveillance, food safety and access to clean water and sanitation throughout the region. For example, the Regional Coalition for Water and Sanitation to Eliminate Cholera in the Island of Hispaniola was formed in January 2012. Additionally, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic have developed National Plans for the elimination of cholera within each country, with support from PAHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). DINEPA (National Directorate for Water Supply and Sanitation or Direction Nationale d’Eau Potable et d’Assainissement), along with multiple partners, is also working to improve the water and sanitation infrastructure in Haiti, where 69% of the population has access to an improved water source and only 17% had access to sanitation in 2010.

These improvements in the infrastructure will also help reduce and eliminate other infectious diseases such as lymphatic filariasis (LF). LF, or elephantiasis, is a debilitating disease that is spread by mosquitoes and causes extreme swelling of the extremities. A group of Global Network partners are making significant progress in LF control and elimination efforts in Haiti. The partnership includes the Haitian government, the CDC, CBM, IMA World Health, the University of Notre Dame and the Envision Project, managed by RTI International and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. We believe it is partnerships like these – which are focusing on controlling and eliminating pervasive diseases of poverty like LF and cholera – that are enabling entire communities to break the cycle of poverty and disease.

Calling All Collaborators to Eliminate Intestinal Worms in Children

WASH, WHO, , , ,

 

Pictured from left to right: John A. Jufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy; Bill Lin, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI); and Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor at ABC News

Pictured from left to right: John A. Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy; Bill Lin, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI); and Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor at ABC News

“What we want to do is produce quality of life for the people.” – H.E. John A. Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009) and Global Network NTD Special Envoy

We have been anxiously awaiting the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) sixty-eighth kick-off session, “The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage.” Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) have impeded critical breakthroughs in development efforts for too long – plaguing one in six people globally, including half a billion children. While we have the medicine, which costs just 50 cents per person per year, we must garner greater attention, collaboration and political will to see the end of horrible suffering in the world’s most neglected communities.

We are certainly hopeful.

It was fitting that in the height of UNGA meetings, the Global Network, Johnson & Johnson, Children Without Worms, The Task Force for Global Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-hosted a conversation to identify innovative ways we can eliminate soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections – one of the key diseases undercutting many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Business as usual” simply wouldn’t do! So, our event, “Innovate & Integrate: Multi-sectoral Approaches for Eliminating Intestinal Worms in Children,” set out to explore how and why organizations in the fields of NTDs; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); nutrition; maternal and child health; and education can collaborate on this issue to ensure lasting advancements.

 

Bill Lin presents on NTDs and WASH

Bill Lin presents on NTDs and WASH

, director of Worldwide Corporate Contributions at Johnson & Johnson, opened with his experience growing up in a rural area outside of Hong Kong. Forever imprinted on him was the constant chanting of “wash your hands” and “don’t put your hands in your mouth.” “You [couldn’t] get clean water just by flipping a faucet.” Bill explained.

Bleak living conditions then and now have caused the perpetual transmission of intestinal worms. Therefore, we must not only distribute medicines to control STH infections but also work with partners to stop them from spreading. “There is a clear need for the education [and] health sectors to work together” to encourage behavioral changes.

, chief health and medical editor at ABC News then asked tough questions to our panelists: H.E. John A. Kufur, former president of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009); Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of NTDs at WHO; and Ms. Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International (HKI).

Recognizing that we were talking about “a disease that isn’t killing a lot of people” during a “busy week in New York,” Dr. Besser asked Dr. Savioli, “why does [STH] deserve attention?”

Optimistically, Dr. Lorenzo responded, “We can do something about it. We are eradicating guinea worm, we have the drugs to treat intestinal helminths … we can really interrupt transmission. We can make a difference with the tools we have in our hands.”

President Kufuor chimed in, “our goal is to seek solutions.” Speaking from his experiences in making NTD and WASH advancements as President of Ghana, including tremendous strides in the effort to eliminate guinea worm, President Kufuor noted that behavior change was critical, including “show[ing]  [people] how to boil water.” President Kufuor also stressed that the successes he oversaw were due to implementing policies that educated the public and provided infrastructure, and knowing when to “seek international help.”

Dr. Besser then asked Kathy, “Why does HKI think this is an important problem to tackle?”

Kathy answered that STH infections are “incredibly disabling” and threaten worker productivity, children’s attendance in school and the ability of children to achieve. We’re “really talking about the posterity of the country unless these diseases are tackled,” Kathy said.

Dr. Besser then asked President Kufuor about the widespread impact of intestinal worms. President Kufuor stated, “Worms prevent kids from getting full benefits. … The economy isn’t well when people have worms. … We tackle the problem from the source.”

President Kufuor also touched on a devastating consequence of STH infections: the impact on pregnant women and their babies: “Even with mothers, if they do not look after themselves well with what they eat, what they drink, then the fetus will not mature the way it should.”

Addressing the economic impact, Dr. Besser asked Dr. Savioli, “What evidence is there that these type of control efforts make a difference?” Dr. Savioli recognized that there is huge economic growth occurring in Africa, and that “those countries doing best in the African continent with NTDs are the ones that are doing better economically.”

Asking Kathy about whether it’s “idealistic to think that you can accomplish cross-sector integration,” Dr. Besser said, “Can it happen?” To which Kathy responded, “Nothing can happen unless you work cross-sectorally.”

Wrapping up the interviews, Dr. Besser asked, “If the MDGs don’t list NTDs, what does that mean?”

Dr. Savioli noted, “We need to put pressure to make sure that happens” and that, thanks to “a unique relationship between international organizations, NGOs, endemic states and the private sector,” we have a “historically unique” opportunity “in the history of public health.”

Kathy shared that we need to go beyond the drugs, giving the example of HKI’s partnership with Johnson & Johnson to develop curriculums in education – hand washing, face washing – in Cambodia to realize tremendous successes.

It’s no wonder that after the interviews and audience Q&A, Dr. Besser said, he has “about 50 more questions [he] would love to ask” and that we’re “fortunate to have such different perspectives on this problem.” STH is different in that the solution is known, and that “it’s a problem of will and resources to implement the solution,” Dr. Besser concluded.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Savioli stated, “We have the scientific evidence that when you treat people regularly, the morbidity goes down.” However, “countries have to be at the center of it” because “countries that have done well have performed better” in economic, health and other development markers.

“You deprive the country if you don’t do it,” Kathy closed.

Thanks to all for such an engaging, thought-provoking event! We look forward to seeing how cross-sectoral collaborationcan make a difference in STH control and elimination in children.