Tag Archives: WASH

A Royal Case of Worms

NTDs, Water and Sanitation,

 

King_RichardEveryone knows that neglected tropical diseases typically affect the poorest and most marginalized communities. However, this has not always been the case. After studying the soil surrounding King Richard III’s skeleton, researchers concluded today that the fifteenth-century king of England suffered from a mild case of roundworm. Soil samples from where his intestines would have been show multiple roundworm eggs, which can be preserved for hundreds of years under the right conditions. (Richard III died in battle at the age of 32, and his burial location was lost to history until his skeleton was discovered by archeologists in 2012 under a parking lot in Leicester.)

NTDs have plagued humanity for centuries and were common even in England during the reign of Richard III. But why is it unlikely that you’d get an NTD in the UK today?

In fact, if you have the resources to protect yourself, it is unlikely that you would be infected with an NTD anywhere. While the rich and poor were susceptible to NTDs in the past, today, only the poor in developing countries―the bottom billion―are at high risk. Geography plays a role (NTDs like warm, moist places), but living standards are the most significant determining factor.

Poor communities typically lack access to the essential protective measures of clean water, sanitation facilities, soap for good hygiene, and improved housing, and are thus at much higher risk of coming into contact with parasites or the insects that spread them. By introducing these measures, along with shoes for added protection and free medications to treat current infections, communities can start down to the path to being NTD-free. Too bad Richard III didn’t know that!

For this reason, President Kufuor and the Global Network team are in Stockholm this week to attend the Stockholm International Water Institute’s World Water Week. In partnership with Sanitation and Water for All, President Kufuor is working to promote long term NTD solutions by integrating mass drug administration with programs for water, sanitation and hygiene.

Look out next week for our follow up blog from World Water Week, where we will report back on President Kufuor’s high-level advocacy activities.

A Great African Statesman and One of the Nicest People You Could Ever Meet

Africa, WASH, ,

 

Exray Foto Sanjay 1Sanjay Wijesekera, Chief of WASH, UNICEF talks about H.E. John Kufuor’s visit to World Water Week in Stockholm

It is a great honour to be at World Water Week in Stockholm with HE John Kufuor, especially as he was President during my time in Ghana between 2005 and 2008.  Not only is he a great African statesman, but he is one of nicest people you could ever meet.  The President is Chair of Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) and Special Envoy to the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and these two initiatives have particular resonance at this, the world’s foremost annual gathering of water and sanitation experts.  The Global Network for NTDs seeks to bring attention to a group of diseases that continue to cause immense pain and suffering in developing countries, most of which can only be eliminated if there are improvements to sanitation and water.  And the Sanitation and Water for All partnership was created to increase the political will around making those improvements, and to help countries achieve better use of their resources.

This speaks strongly to the mission of UNICEF, and our dedication to protecting the rights of children and helping them to achieve their full potential.  Many of the neglected tropical diseases take a terrible toll on the lives of children.  Trachoma, for instance, causes blindness, and intestinal worms sap children’s strength, leaving them listless, poorly nourished and unable to learn at school.  It is estimated that almost half of the primary school-age children in developing counties carry intestinal worms – an incredible burden of ill-health and lost opportunity.  Better sanitation, safe water and good hygiene practices can help eliminate or control many neglected tropical diseases, and other equally serious health problems such as diarrhoeal disease.

H.E. Kufuor is challenging governments to make water, sanitation, hygiene and the elimination of the diseases they cause a top political priority.  The Sanitation and Water for All partnership will hold its third biennial meeting in 2014, and countries will report to each other on the progress they have made against the commitments they have previously made towards achieving universal access to water and sanitation.  I feel there is cause for optimism that these essential foundations to children’s health and well-being are gaining the highest attention, and that diseases such as trachoma and worms may soon be a part of history.

Handwashing: Is it really all that simple?

Water and Sanitation, , , ,

Happy Global Handwashing Day! Today we feature a piece authored by Kerry Gallo of Children Without Worms:

By: Kerry Gallo, Children Without Worms

Since joining Children Without Worms (CWW) earlier this year, I’ve spent most of my time thinking about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)—in particular, intestinal worms in kids, and how deworming medications like albendazole and mebendazole can make kids healthy. But last week, I had the opportunity to step out of the NTD space and into the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) world for a few days by attending the Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

I’ve written before about the importance of partnerships between the NTD and WASH sectors. CWW advocates for the WASHED Framework (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Education and Deworming) as a comprehensive strategy for prevention and treatment of intestinal worms. Our role is to partner with drug companies to coordinate the donations of deworming medications, such as albendazole from GlaxoSmithKline and mebendazole from Johnson & Johnson. But since we are not WASH program implementers, we turn to our partners to complement deworming with the administration of hygiene education and improvements to water and sanitation infrastructure.

It was in the role of partner and advocate for WASHED that I attended the conference and met with many colleagues representing various WASH organizations. One event that was discussed with excitement was Global Handwashing Day.

Handwashing—what could be more simple? It seems like such an incredibly basic activity to us, but for kids in low resource settings around the world, it may not be so simple. Continue reading →

World Toilet Day: Putting an End to a Crappy Problem

Global Development, Global Health, Public Health, Water and Sanitation, , , , , , , ,

Blog post courtesy of Eileen Burke, Director of Media and Communications at Save the Children.

For Sarita, age 15, going to the bathroom during school used to bring fears of being bitten by a snake or embarrassment of having people see her going out in the open.

“The surrounding area of the school has poor sanitation,” explained Surya Prasad Bhatta, a teacher at Chaudyal Lower Secondary School in Kailali District of Nepal, where Sarita is a student. “The students would usually have to go on the river bank or in the jungle due to lack of toilets.  It was difficult for them.”

Sarita’s story is all too common among school-age children in developing countries.  Many children have limited or no access to a bathroom during the school day. According to UNICEF, nearly two out of three schools in poor countries lack adequate sanitation.

School-age girls like Sarita, especially those who have reached puberty, are vulnerable to missing school or dropping out when there are no private and safe toilets available.

Save the Children will join with other organizations around the world to draw attention to the global sanitation crisis on Friday, Nov. 19, World Toilet Day,. It is part of the global humanitarian organization’s effort to help children stay healthy and stay in school.

Want to get involved?  Here are some simple actions you can take on World Toilet Day:

As for Sarita, two years ago through a Save the Children-supported program the school built four new toilets for boys and four new toilets for girls.

“Things are different now,” said Sarita. “We use the toilet, and we don’t have to stand in long lines because we have enough of them.  There is privacy, and it is less time-consuming.”