Potential Viability of WaterCredit & Microfinance Solutions in Indonesia

January 7, 2013 · 0 comments

Water and Sanitation Market Assessment: Potential Viability of WaterCredit & Microfinance Solutions in Indonesia, 2012.

WaterCredit.org

The Indonesia WaterCredit Market Assessment evaluates the market for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Indonesia and gauges potential opportunities to expand access to new or improved WASH solutions through financial services.

The report is based on focus groups with residents in rural, urban, and peri-urban areas, as well as a comprehensive series of interviews with a broad range of actors representing government entities, WASH providers, WASH materials manufacturers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international development agencies, and financial services providers.

Hygiene intervention reduces contamination of weaning food in Bangladesh

January 3, 2013 · 0 comments

Trop Med Int; Health, Dec 28, 2012, DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12051

Hygiene intervention reduces contamination of weaning food in Bangladesh

Mohammad Sirajul Islam1,*, Zahid Hayat Mahmud1, Partha Sarathi Gope1, Rokon Uz Zaman1, Zakir Hossain1, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam1, Dinesh Mondal1, Mohammad Abu Yushuf Sharker1, Khairul Islam2, Hasin Jahan2, Abbas Bhuiya1, Hubert P. Endtz3, Alejandro Cravioto1, Valerie Curtis4, Ousmane Touré5, Sandy Cairncross

Objective – This study was conducted to measure the impact of a hygiene intervention on the contamination of weaning food in Bangladesh.

Methods – Sixty households were selected: 30 study and 30 control households. Samples of weaning food were collected from all the 60 households at baseline and examined for faecal coliforms (FC), faecal streptococci (FS) and Clostridium perfringens (CP) following standard procedures. After cooking, food samples were collected on three occasions before feeding. Following Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures, critical control points were determined. The mothers in the 30 study households were then trained for 4 weeks in how to attain the control point conditions. Then, again the food samples were collected and analysed.

Results – At baseline, weaning foods from study and control households were heavily contaminated with FC and FS. The FC and FS counts were 1.84 log10 and 1.92 log10 colony-forming unit (cfu)/g, respectively, in the study households, and 0.86 log10 and 1.33 log10 cfu/g, respectively, in the control households in the first feeding. After the intervention, the FC and FS counts in study households had dropped to 0.10 log10 and 0.09 log10 cfu/g, respectively, a statistically significant reduction (P < 0.001). Monitoring the sustainability of the behaviour change after 3 months showed that the mothers were maintaining food hygiene.

Conclusions – A hygiene intervention following the HACCP approach reduced the weaning food contamination significantly. Awareness building among mothers about weaning food hygiene could be an important intervention for preventing weaning food–related diarrhoea in Bangladesh.

WHO – Arsenic Fact Sheet, Dec 2012

January 3, 2013 · 0 comments

WHO – Arsenic Fact Sheet, Dec 2012.

Key facts

  • Arsenic is naturally present at high levels in the groundwater of a number of countries.
  • Arsenic is highly toxic in its inorganic form.
  • Contaminated water used for drinking, food preparation and irrigation of food crops poses the greatest threat to public health from arsenic.
  • Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It has also been associated with developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes.
  • The most important action in affected communities is the prevention of further exposure to arsenic by provision of a safe water supply.

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Arsenic Contaminated Groundwater and Its Treatment Options in Bangladesh

January 3, 2013 · 2 comments

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2013, 10(1), 18-46

Arsenic Contaminated Groundwater and Its Treatment Options in Bangladesh

Jia-Qian Jiang, et al

Arsenic (As) causes health concerns due to its significant toxicity and worldwide presence in drinking water and groundwater. The major sources of As pollution may be natural process such as dissolution of As-containing minerals and anthropogenic activities such as percolation of water from mines, etc. The maximum contaminant level for total As in potable water has been established as 10 µg/L. Among the countries facing As contamination problems, Bangladesh is the most affected. Up to 77 million people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking water. Therefore, it has become an urgent need to provide As-free drinking water in rural households throughout Bangladesh.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview on the recent data on arsenic contamination status, its sources and reasons of mobilization and the exposure pathways in Bangladesh. Very little literature has focused on the removal of As from groundwaters in developing countries and thus this paper aims to review the As removal technologies and be a useful resource for researchers or policy makers to help identify and investigate useful treatment options. While a number of technological developments in arsenic removal have taken place, we must consider variations in sources and quality characteristics of As polluted water and differences in the socio-economic and literacy conditions of people, and then aim at improving effectiveness in arsenic removal, reducing the cost of the system, making the technology user friendly, overcoming maintenance problems and resolving sludge management issues.

Relative benefits of on-plot water supply over other ‘improved’ sources in rural Vietnam

January 3, 2013 · 0 comments

Tropical Medicine & International Health, Volume 18, Issue 1, pages 65–74, January 2013

Relative benefits of on-plot water supply over other ‘improved’ sources in rural Vietnam

Joe Brown, et al

Objective – Access to improved water sources is rapidly expanding in rural central Vietnam. We examined one NGO-led piped water supply programme to assess the drinking water quality and health impacts of piped water systems where access to ‘improved’ water sources is already good.

Methods – This longitudinal, prospective cohort study followed 300 households in seven project areas in Da Nang province, Vietnam: 224 households who paid for an on-plot piped water connection and 76 control households from the same areas relying primarily on ‘improved’ water sources outside the home. The 4-month study was intended to measure the impact of the NGO-led water programmes on households’ drinking water quality and health and to evaluate system performance.

Results – We found that: (i) households connected to a piped water supply had consistently better drinking water quality than those relying on other sources, including ‘improved’ sources and (ii) connected households experienced less diarrhoea than households without a piped water connection (adjusted longitudinal prevalence ratio: 0.57 (95% CI 0.39–0.86, P = 0.006) and households using an ‘improved’ source not piped to the plot: (adjusted longitudinal prevalence ratio: 0.59 (95% CI 0.39–0.91, P = 0.018).

Conclusions – Our results suggest that on-plot water service yields benefits over other sources that are considered ‘improved’ by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme.

Water safety and inequality in access to drinking-water between rich and poor households

January 2, 2013 · 0 comments

Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Dec 31.

Water safety and inequality in access to drinking-water between rich and poor households.

Yang H, Bain RE, Bartram J, Gundry S, Pedley S, Wright J.

While water and sanitation are now recognized as a human right by the United Nations, monitoring inequality in safe water access poses challenges. This study uses survey data to calculate household socio-economic-status (SES) indices in seven countries where national drinking-water quality surveys are available. These are used to assess inequalities in access as indicated by type of improved water source, use of safe water and a combination of these .

In Bangladesh, arsenic exposure through drinking-water is not significantly related to SES (p=0.06) among households using tubewells, whereas in Peru, chlorine residual in piped systems varies significantly with SES (p<0.0001). In Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Nigeria, many poor households access non-piped improved sources, which may provide unsafe water, resulting in greater inequality of access to ‘safe’ water compared to ‘improved’ water sources. Concentration indices increased from 0.08 to 0.15, 0.10 to 0.14, and 0.24 to 0.26 respectively in these countries.

There was minimal difference in Jordan and Tajikistan. Although the results are likely to be underestimates as they exclude individual-level inequalities, they show that use of a binary ‘improved’ / ‘unimproved’ categorization masks substantial inequalities. Future international monitoring programmes should take account of inequality in access and safety.

Key 2012 HWTS Studies, Manuals

December 31, 2012 · 0 comments

230+ reports and studies were posted to the WASHplus Household Drinking Water Quality Updates in 2012. Below are links to selected studies, manuals, etc.:

December 2012

November 2012

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Presentations from the 2012 HWTS Annual Network Meeting

December 27, 2012 · 0 comments

Recent Events at the UNC Water and Health Conference in Chapel Hill, USA – October 2012

From October 29 to November 2, 2012, the Water and Health Conference was held in Chapel Hill, USA. During the week, the HWTS Network held its annual meeting and a number of side events related to HWTS took place. These proceedings are briefly summarised below.

2012 Network Annual Meeting
Convened by WHO, UNICEF, and UNC-Water Institute
Monday, October 29, 8:30am – 5:30pm

During the 2012 Annual Meeting HWTS Network, participants discussed critical issues on HWTS: the challenges of achieving scale in coverage, integration with other household environmental health interventions, monitoring & evaluation, successes and failures from the field, the recently released WHO performance evaluation guidelines, and the newly convened Network working groups. Presentations from the meeting are available for download below. You may also download the agenda.

Presentations from the Annual Meeting

  1. Maggie Montgomery – Welcome and meeting overview | Download
  2. Ryan Rowe – Update of Network activities in 2012 | Download
  3. Maggie Montgomery – Strengthening national policies | Download
  4. Edema Ojomo – Review of enabling environment for HWTS | Download
  5. Laura McLaughlin – SE200s in schools: STEM education and safe water | Download
  6. Hans Mosler – Behavioural determinants for safe water practices | Download
  7. Michael Ritter – User adoption of HWTS with different distribution models | Download
  8. Navneet Garg – Delaying HIV-1 progression via an integrated campaign | Download
  9. Rob Quick – Integrating household hygiene and maternal health in Kenya | Download
  10. Rick Johnston – Evaluating distribution/sales models for gravity driven filters | Download
  11. Glenn Austin – Perspectives: market based approaches to HWTS | no slides
  12. Liz Blanton – Increasing access through microfinance institutions | no slides
  13. Sjef Ernes – Adapting to the demands of innovative finance | no slides
  14. Ryan Rowe – Plans for 2013 and Network communications | Download
  15. Maggie Montgomery – Delivering on Network commitments and targets | Download

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USAID Global Waters, Dec 2012 – Healthy Ecosystems, Healthy People

December 27, 2012 · 0 comments

Healthy Ecosystems, Healthy People – Global Waters, Dec 2012. (pdf)

Contents
  • On The  Waterfront – Double the Progress
  • In Focus: South to South Partnerships
  • A Deeper Look: The Future of Food; World Water Week; Global Handwashing Day; The UN International Year of Water Cooperation 2013; World Toilet Day
  • Real Impact: Development with a Side of Drama
Currents
  • G8 Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Announces Addition of African Countries
  • USAID Launches WA-WASH Program in West Africa
  • USAID/SUWASA Project Connects Thousands to Water Pipeline
  • Resource Management: Marine Ecosystems In Timor-Leste Rife With New Species

 

Water Business Kit Kenya: A guide to starting your own water treatment and vending business

December 20, 2012 · 2 comments

Water Business Kit Kenya: A guide to starting your own water treatment and vending business, 2012. International Finance Corporation. 

This Water Business Kit is published jointly by IFC and Aquaya. It is intended to provide small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs with a step-by-step guide to developing a water treatment and vending business in Kenya. Such businesses have been observed to serve customers in many parts of the world with high-quality, treated drinking water. These businesses represent the efforts of independent, local entrepreneurs to meet consumer demand for treated drinking water. Although the kit is based on research and information collected for Kenya, the guidance may be relevant to businesses in other countries.

The Water Business Kit is the result of 18 months of business research in Kenya, which included support for the establishment of six demonstration water treatment and vending businesses. The kit answers they key question: ‘Why should you open your own water treatment and vending business?’ and goes on to provide a practical ‘How To’ guide for entrepreneurs.


 

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