Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report—Water and Sanitation

Aid For Water, Sanitation Programs Must Benefit The Poor

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:06:13 GMT

In this post in the ONE blog, Brooks Keene, policy adviser for CARE's water team, "makes the argument that foreign aid should benefit the poor first and foremost," noting, "As we approach World Water Day on March 22, CARE, [the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)] and WaterAid have published a report card [.pdf] on how well" the Water for the Poor Act, passed by Congress in 2005, "has been implemented seven years down the line." She writes, "In the absence of a strategy, USAID has gone ahead with water, sanitation and hygiene programs, but much of the effort and dollars have not gone to benefit the poor." She concludes by recommending several steps USAID could take "to spur concerted targeting" (2/9).

Water And Sanitation Sector Must Speak Up To Be Included In NTD Eradication Efforts

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:57:04 GMT

Applauding the signing of the so-called "London Declaration on NTDs" by a consortium of public and private partners last week, Ned Breslin, CEO of Water For People, writes in this Huffington Post "Impact" opinion piece, "I am saddened by the emphasis on vaccines and medicines as the seemingly only vehicles to eradicate NTDs by London Declaration signatories. And I wonder where water, sanitation and hygiene are in this mix, as by all accounts it is not anywhere to be seen in the NTD eradication initiative."

Malawi Faces Cholera Outbreak After Floods Lead To Declining Sanitary Conditions

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:38:31 GMT

Inter Press Service reports on a cholera outbreak in Malawi's Nsanje and Chikhwawa districts, located on the southern border with Mozambique, noting that government officials have attributed the outbreak to declining sanitation conditions as a result of flooding in late January. According to IPS, "up to 550 pit latrines were washed away in Nsanje alone, a district hardest hit by the floods," and "[s]ewage from the latrines has contaminated water sources in the district, including boreholes and dug-out wells, thereby escalating the cholera incidents, according to the assistant Disaster Management Officer for Nsanje, Humphrey Magalasi."

Establishing Clean Water, Sanitation In Liberia

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:41:00 GMT

In this Guardian analysis, journalist and author Rose George describes a recent trip to Liberia with the organization WaterAid, during which she discussed sanitation with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and visited two towns with the aim of learning more about their access to clean water and sanitation. George describes the country's history, how some non-governmental organizations are working to improve sanitation in the country, and the challenges to doing so. She quotes Sirleaf as saying, "People say they want health clinics, ... but they don't ask for sanitation. They say their children get malaria or dysentery, but they don't ask for sanitation. We have to bring to their consciousness that sanitation is linked to health" (2/3).

U.N. Provides $9.1M To WHO, UNICEF To Help Fight Cholera In DRC

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:29:56 GMT

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week "received $9.1 million ... from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to fight off cholera, which has affected more than 22,000 people and killed 500 over the past year in the central African country," the U.N. News Centre reports. "In a news release, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that there has been a spike in cases in recent weeks, with the majority of them occurring in eastern provinces where cholera is endemic," according to the news service (1/27). UNICEF will receive $4.4 million and the WHO will receive $4.7 million to help fight the spread of the disease, which "has ravaged eight of the country's 11 provinces since January 2011," Agence France-Presse writes (1/28).

Fears Of Cholera Outbreak Arise In Zimbabwe After More Than 800 Cases Of Typhoid Reported

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:19:36 GMT

"Doctors in Zimbabwe said more than 800 cases of typhoid have been reported in Harare, the capital, in an outbreak of the bacterial disease," GlobalPost reports (Conway-Smith, 1/29). "Health services director Dr. Prosper Chonzi raised fears of a cholera outbreak given the health conditions that gave birth to typhoid," Xinhua writes (1/28). Chonzi "said ... a clean-up and awareness campaign is underway," according to GlobalPost (1/29).

Access To, Use Of Sanitation Systems Cuts Odds Of Worm Infection In Half, Study Review Shows

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:33:36 GMT

When sanitation systems are available and used, the odds of contracting one of a group of diseases, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH), is cut in half, according to a systemic review and meta-analysis published this week in PLoS Medicine, Examiner.com reports (Herriman, 1/25). "One billion of the world's people experience a diminished ability to work, learn, and thrive as a result of infection by these parasites -- roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm. The resulting losses in quality of life and productivity can trap people in a cycle of poverty and stigma and diminish their ability to care for themselves and their families," the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog writes.

U.S. Military Provides Medical Care, Education Services To Women, Children In Tanzania

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:11:41 GMT

The U.S. Army news service reports on a five-day Medical Civil Action Program, or MEDCAP, in Tanzania, during which "Tanzanian medical providers working in partnership with U.S. service members from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa provided medical care to more than 2,100 Tanzanian women and children." According to the news service, "The program supported the Tanzanian Health Initiative, a program that seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to health for the Tanzanian people and parallels the U.S. government's Global Health Initiative."

Cote d'Ivoire Continues To Need Humanitarian Assistance, U.N. Official Says

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:29:52 GMT

"Cote d'Ivoire remains in great need of humanitarian assistance nine months after the end of the bloody post-election violence that displaced tens of thousands of people, a senior United Nations relief official said today, urging donors to continue their generosity to the West African country throughout this year," the U.N. News Centre reports. "Considerable needs remain in several areas such as protection of civilians, restoration of means of livelihood, shelter, access to basic services and voluntary return and reintegration of displaced persons and refugees," Catherine Bragg, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy U.N. emergency relief coordinator, said following a three-day visit to the nation, according to the news service (1/18).

USAID's Shah Discusses Progress In Post-Earthquake Haiti On NPR's Talk Of The Nation

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:54:00 GMT

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Thursday appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation to discuss rebuilding efforts in Haiti two years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Shah said, "[O]ver the last two years, we've seen real signs of hope. A number of things have worked. Partners and the Haitian government and Haitian leaders have done things differently so that today, ... more people have access to clean water and safe sanitation in Port-au-Prince than the day before the earthquake," according to the transcript.

International Health Groups Ally To Fight Cholera In Haiti; Officials Emphasize Need For Sanitation Infrastructure

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:52:00 GMT

"Unless steps are taken to eliminate cholera from Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, the disease will likely resurge and could even spread to other parts of the Caribbean, international health officials said Wednesday," CQ HealthBeat reports (Bristol, 1/11). Officials from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), UNICEF and the CDC "said they would join with the Haitian and Dominican governments to develop a plan to eradicate cholera from the island the two countries share by extending clean water and sanitation to stricken areas," Reuters writes, adding, "The effort faces a daunting financial challenge if it is to meet a goal of reaching at least two-thirds of the Haitian population by 2015, a task that could cost $1.1 billion" (Morgan, 1/12).

Aid Group Tracks Down Likely First Case In Haiti's Cholera Outbreak

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:03:00 GMT

"A mentally ill man who bathed in and drank from a contaminated river most likely was the first person to be infected" with cholera in the outbreak that began in Haiti in October 2010, researchers from Partners in Health said in a study published Monday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (1/9). "'This patient's case is the first in the community's collective memory to have had symptoms that are recognizable, in retrospect, to be those of cholera,' according to the study," CNN's "The Chart" notes, adding, "There is no lab method to confirm that this was the first patient to start the epidemic, wrote the authors" (Park, 1/9).

Haiti Faces 'Largest' Cholera Epidemic In Modern History, PAHO Says

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:47:06 GMT

"Almost two years after the devastating 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, full recovery appears to be years away," the Miami Herald reports, noting that "[t]housands of people continue to live in makeshift shelters and tents [and] rubble from dilapidated buildings still line some streets" (Lee, 1/7). In addition, "[t]he cholera outbreak in Haiti is 'one of the largest epidemics of the disease in modern history to affect a single country,' the U.N. World Health Organization's Pan-American Health Organization [PAHO] said in a news release," according to United Press International (1/7).

IRIN Examines Risk Of Waterborne Diseases In Zimbabwe

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:26:00 GMT

IRIN examines how a lack of sanitation facilities and access to clean water, as well as the onset of the rainy season, are increasing the risk of waterborne diseases in rural areas of Zimbabwe. A 2009 survey, "compiled by the government and U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), listed diarrhea as one of the major causes of infant mortality resulting in around 4,000 deaths in Zimbabwe annually" and "showed a 20 percent increase in under-five mortality since 1990," IRIN writes.

Sri Lankan Presidential Task Force Against Dengue Seeing Success

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:55:45 GMT

"Sri Lanka is making progress in the battle against mosquito-borne dengue fever, say health officials," IRIN reports. According to the health ministry, 26,722 dengue cases were reported in 2011, down from 34,105 cases in 2010, and the number of dengue-related deaths dropped from 246 to 172, IRIN notes. Officials credit the establishment in May 2010 of an "anti-dengue Presidential Task Force -- involving the ministries of health, defense, the environment, education, and local government, and headed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa" -- for the drop in cases, IRIN writes. The agencies worked together to launch widespread education campaigns, "clea[n] up areas suspected of being mosquito breeding grounds," and impose fines for illegal dumping, according to the news agency (12/29).

Top 10 Global Health Achievements Of 2011

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:55:29 GMT

In this Huffington Post "Impact" blog post, Karl Hofmann, president and CEO of PSI, outlines 10 "milestones for the global health community" that occurred in 2011. Among the achievements, Hofmann says governments avoided making major cuts to foreign aid budgets despite a global economic downturn; studies supported "treatment as prevention" as an HIV prevention strategy; the number of malaria cases and deaths worldwide continued to decline; research showed a promising vaccine candidate to prevent malaria among children; and more women gained access to long-acting, reversible contraceptives. Hofmann also lists advances in social franchising; maternal health; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights; pneumonia prevention and treatment; and sanitation, hygiene and access to clean water (12/29).

U.S. Assistance Helping To Provide Safe, Clean Water In Horn Of Africa

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:16:53 GMT

Scientific American Examines Relationship Between Climate Change, Health

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:23:02 GMT

Scientific American examines the interface between climate change and human health, writing, "WHO research suggests that current warming of global average temperatures of just under one degree Celsius is responsible for an additional 150,000 deaths per year, largely due to agricultural failures and diarrheal disease in developing countries. ... As a result, WHO -- and a consortium of other public health organizations -- declared climate change to be among the most pressing emerging health issues in the world at the recent climate negotiations ... in South Africa."

Haiti Experiencing Decline In Cholera Cases As Dry Season Begins

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:07:33 GMT

"Haiti has seen a steady decline in the number of cholera cases, as the Caribbean nation settles into its dry season, humanitarian groups said Tuesday," the Associated Press reports, adding, "The seasonal decline in the number of cholera cases is consistent with the findings of a report released Tuesday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs." According to the report, health officials are recording about 300 cases nationwide per day, compared with 500 cases one month ago, and the mortality rate has dropped or leveled in nearly all of Haiti's 10 departments, the AP notes (Daniel, 12/20).

U.N. 'Must Face Up' To Haiti Cholera Outbreak

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:58:41 GMT

In this Guardian opinion piece, Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., writes that the U.N. "must face up" to a cholera outbreak allegedly brought to Haiti by peacekeeping troops in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. "More than 500,000 have been infected, and the disease -- which Haiti has not had in more than a century -- is now endemic to the country and will be killing people there for many years to come," he writes.