WASHplus Weekly – Focus on Self Supply

May 4, 2012 · 0 comments

WASHplus Weekly | Issue 54 May 4, 2012 | Focus on Self Supply

Self supply is an approach that can help increase rural water supply coverage in areas where it is not feasible or cost-effective to develop communal supplies.

Rainwater harvesting, construction and upgrading of shallow wells and household water treatment all lend themselves to self supply or household investment.

WaterAid calls self supply the water-equivalent of Community-led Total Sanitation. Despite its potential, self supply is often not formally recognized as a model for service delivery in sector policy and institutions.

The resources in this issue include an upcoming World Bank Webinar, a useful 2012 brief by IRC and country reports from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda.

A conceptual framework to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of water safety plans

May 3, 2012 · 0 comments

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Vol 2 No 2 pp 103–111

A conceptual framework to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of water safety plans

Richard J. Gelting, Kristin Delea and Elizabeth Medlin

Global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Team, Environmental Health Services Branch, National Center for Environmental Health, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E-mail: rgelting@cdc.gov

A Water Safety Plan (WSP) is a preventive, risk management approach to ensure drinking water safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines place WSPs within a larger ‘framework for safe drinking-water’ that links WSPs to health, creating an implicit expectation that implementation of WSPs will safeguard health in areas with acceptable drinking water quality. However, many intervening factors can come between implementation of an individual WSP and ultimate health outcomes.

Evaluating the impacts of a WSP, therefore, requires a much broader analysis than simply looking at health improvements. Until recently, little guidance for the monitoring and evaluation of WSPs existed. Drawing examples from existing WSPs in various regions, this paper outlines a conceptual framework for conducting an overall evaluation of the various outcomes and impacts of a WSP. This framework can provide a common basis for implementers to objectively monitor and evaluate the range of outcomes and impacts from WSPs, as well as a common understanding of the time frames within which those results may occur.

As implementers understand the various outcomes and impacts of WSPs beyond health, a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of WSPs will develop, further enabling the scaling up of WSP implementation and provision of better quality water.

Continuous-flow solar UVB disinfection reactor for drinking water

May 3, 2012 · 0 comments

Water Res. 2012 May 1;46(7):2344-54.

Continuous-flow solar UVB disinfection reactor for drinking water.

Mbonimpa EG, Vadheim B, Blatchley ER 3rd. School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051, USA.

Access to safe, reliable sources of drinking water is a long-standing problem among people in developing countries. Sustainable solutions to these problems often involve point-of-use or community-scale water treatment systems that rely on locally-available resources and expertise. This philosophy was used in the development of a continuous-flow, solar UVB disinfection system. Numerical modeling of solar UVB spectral irradiance was used to define temporal variations in spectral irradiance at several geographically-distinct locations. The results of these simulations indicated that a solar UVB system would benefit from incorporation of a device to amplify ambient UVB fluence rate. A compound parabolic collector (CPC) was selected for this purpose. Design of the CPC was based on numerical simulations that accounted for the shape of the collector and reflectance. Based on these simulations, a prototype CPC was constructed using materials that would be available and inexpensive in many developing countries. A UVB-transparent pipe was positioned in the focal area of the CPC; water was pumped through the pipe to allow exposure of waterborne microbes to germicidal solar UVB radiation. The system was demonstrated to be effective for inactivation of Escherichia coli, and DNA-weighted UV dose was shown to govern reactor performance. The design of the reactor is expected to scale linearly, and improvements in process performance (relative to results from the prototype) can be expected by use of larger CPC geometry, inclusion of better reflective materials, and application in areas with greater ambient solar UV spectral irradiance than the location of the prototype tests. The system is expected to have application for water treatment among communities in (developing) countries in near-equatorial and tropical locations. It may also have application for disaster relief or military field operations, as well as in water treatment in areas of developed countries that receive relatively intense solar UVB radiation.

Epidemiological study of shigellosis in an urban area of Argentina

May 3, 2012 · 0 comments

J Infect Dev Ctries. 2012 Apr 13;6(4):324-8.

Epidemiological study of shigellosis in an urban area of Argentina.

Rolfo F, Marin GH, Silberman M, Pattin J, Giugnio S, Gatti B, Bettiol M, Rigoni A.

INTRODUCTION: Shigellosis represents one of the main causes of bloody diarrhoea in South America. This study aimed to establish the incidence of shigellosis in an urban zone of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by examining the type of Shigella and living conditions associated with this infection.

METHODOLOGY: Between January 2009 and December 2010 we analyzed shigellosis in children admitted to the public health service with bloody diarrhoea from La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A total of 372 children under 15 years old with Shigella present in their stool samples were admitted to the study. Variables studied were patient age, type of Shigella, family economic status, and access to sewage services and safe drinking water.

RESULTS: Shigella flexneri was found to be present in 66.8% of the cases. Incidence was 187 cases/year/100,000 children under 15 years old. Cases were mainly observed during the summer (38.5%) in the population of under 5 years old (69.1% of all cases). The risk of shigellosis increased 12 times in those children who lacked safe drinking water and this risk increased 1.5 times in the population without sewage services. Fewer cases of shigellosis were noted in downtown areas, while hot spots were identified in the suburbs. Treating one case of shigellosis has a local cost of US $976 while assuring safe drinking water and sewage services for one family costs US $634.

CONCLUSION: Incidence of shigellosis in urban areas is associated with quality of water and sewage services. Policies aimed at providing education and improving public utilities networks can help to reduce the incidence of shigellosis.

Water Treatment and Handwashing Behaviors among Non-Pregnant Friends and Relatives of Participants

May 3, 2012 · 0 comments

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, May 2012

Water Treatment and Handwashing Behaviors among Non-Pregnant Friends and Relatives of Participants in an Antenatal Hygiene Promotion Program in Malawi

Authors – Elizabeth T. Russo*, Anandi Sheth, Manoj Menon, Kathleen Wannemuehler, Merri Weinger, Amose C. Kudzala, Blessius Tauzie, Humphreys D. Masuku, Tapona E. Msowoya and Robert Quick

Abstract – Access to safe drinking water and improved hygiene are essential for preventing diarrheal diseases. To integrate hygiene improvement with antenatal care, free hygiene kits (water storage containers, water treatment solution, soap) and educational messages were distributed to pregnant women at antenatal clinics in Malawi.

We assessed water treatment and hygiene practices of 275 non-pregnant friends and relatives of the hygiene kit recipients at baseline and follow-up nine months later to measure program impact on non-participants in the same communities.

At follow-up, friends and relatives who did not receive kits or education were more likely than at baseline to purchase and use water treatment solution (25% versus 1%; P < 0.0001) and demonstrate correct handwashing practices (60% versus 18%; P < 0.0001).

This antenatal clinic–based program resulted in improved water treatment and hygiene behaviors among non-pregnant friends and relatives living in the same communities as hygiene kit recipients, suggesting that program benefits extended beyond direct beneficiaries.

Optimizing the Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) Method by DecreasingTurbidity with NaCl

May 1, 2012 · 2 comments

To be published: Brittney Dawney and Joshua M. Pearce, “Optimizing the solar water disinfection (SODIS) method by decreasing turbidity with NaCl”, Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 2(2) pp, 87-94 (2012). doi: 10.2166/washdev.2012.043.

Optimizing the Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) Method by DecreasingTurbidity with NaCl

Solar water disinfection (SODIS) has proven to be effective at reducing diarrheal incidence in epidemiological intervention studies. However, the SODIS method is limited to waters of low turbidity (<30NTU). This study investigates the use of common table salt (NaCl) to reduce the turbidity of water containing suspended colloidal clay particles for use in the SODIS method. Three representative clays found in tropical soils(kaolinite, illite, and bentonite) were tested at three levels of turbidity (50, 100, and 200NTU) for their flocculating behaviour with multiple NaCl concentrations to find theoptimum. Supernatants were tested for sodium concentration for comparison againsthealth and taste thresholds.

Results show that unlike kaolinite and illite, pure bentonite solutions were shown to be very responsive to NaCl and produced supernatants with as low as 4 NTU (98% particle removal efficiency). This study has shown that NaCl, incombination with high-activity clay particles in solution, may effectively reduce turbidityto levels suitable for SODIS treatment, thereby expanding the number of people who canutilize the technology effectively.

Point-of-use water treatment in emergency response

May 1, 2012 · 1 comment

Waterlines, Jan 2012

Point-of-use water treatment in emergency response

Lantagne, Daniele; Clasen, Thomas

Point-of-use water treatment (PoUWT), such as boiling or chlorine disinfection, has long been recommended in emergencies. While there is increasing evidence that these and other PoUWT options improve household water microbiological quality and reduce diarrhoeal disease in the development context, it is unknown whether these results are generalizable to emergencies. The authors conducted a literature review and survey of implementers, and found that PoUWT was effective in small-scale, non-acute, high diarrhoeal disease-risk emergencies when training and materials were provided to recipients, adequate stocks were maintained, and chlorine dosage was appropriate.

There was little documented effectiveness in acute emergencies, with untested products, or during large-scale distributions without training. Results were incorporated into the Sphere Revision, which recommends selecting culturally acceptable PoUWT options, providing adequate products and training to recipients, pre-placing PoUWT products in emergency-prone areas, and using locally available products if continued use in the postemergency phase is desired.

International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Newsletter, April 2012

May 1, 2012 · 0 comments

Link to complete issue: http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/hwts/newsletter/apr2012

Contents of this Newsletter

Click the underlined items to skip to that section

Announcements
300in6 Launches Magazine
Antenna Releases Guidance
Small Community Water Supply Network

News
New Water Quality Test Available
Community Chlorine Dispensers in Kenya

Recent Events
2011 Network Annual Meeting

Publications
GLAAS 2012
CDC HWTS Resources
Drinking Water Quality Blog Updates
Nanotechnology in HWTS

Education, Work, and Funding Opportunities
BushProof Field Trainings
Rotary Scholarships
CAWST HWTS Workshops

Event Calendar

 

Annual Meeting of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage

May 1, 2012 · 0 comments

Network Annual Meeting: Chapel Hill, October 2011

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage was held in Chapel Hill, USA on 3 October 2011. 80 individuals gathered for the meeting, representing 55 different organisations. Proceedings included presentations, panel discussions and break-out sessions.

Major initiatives in HWTS were presented and participants discussed key challenges, successes, and new opportunities for scaling-up and sustaining HWTS. Key themes of discussion included the integration of household water treatment and safe storage into broader water and health programmes and the development of standardised tools in monitoring & evaluation and technology performance. Participants also convened in working groups on advocacy/policy, implementation/integration/scaling-up, monitoring & evaluation, and research/knowledge advancement.

The main outcomes of the meeting were the sharing of challenges, successes and lessons learned among Network participants and initial discussions on draft action plans among the four working groups for 2012. In addition, on days prior to and following the Network meeting the Network Advisory Group and the Network Public-Private Partnership Group met for the first time in Phase II (2011-2016) of the Network. These groups offer leadership and expert input regarding key initiatives, such as the proposed WHO-led international household water treatment evaluation scheme.

Download the meeting report

Selected proceedings from the 2011 Network Annual Meeting can be downloaded below.

  • 1. Maggie Montgomery – Network Update | Download
  • 2. Rob Quick – Integrating Household Water Treatment and Storage into Health Services: Rationale, Examples from the Field, and Lessons Learned | Download
  • 3. Greg Allgood – Benefits of Integration of HWTS into School, HIV/AIDS, WASH and Nutrition Programs | Download
  • 4. John Kariuki – Integrated Household Water Treatment Efforts in Kenya and the East Africa Region | Download
  • 5. Daniele Lantagne – The HWTS M&E Toolkit: Work-to-date and Way Forward | Download
  • 6. Christian Vousvouras – The 2011 Household and Community Water Treatment and Safe Storage Yearbook |Download
  • 7. Kara Nelson – Predicting the Health Impact of Household Water Treatment | Download
  • Note: The work presented by Dr Kara Nelson’s at the Annual Meeting was published in April 2012. Read the abstract here.

London School Reviews on WASH/PLHIV and Shared Sanitation

May 1, 2012 · 0 comments

Dear Colleague,

We are conducting two systematic reviews, the first on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) and the second on shared sanitation. For both reviews we are especially eager to learn about any studies, programme evaluations or other work that may not have been published.

1) For the review on WASH among PLHIV, please let us know if you have been involved with or are aware of any research that (i) involves a WASH intervention, (ii) among PLHIV or children born to HIV+ mothers, AND (iii) includes health, infection or nutritional outcomes. If so, please contact Rachel.Peletz@lshtm.ac.uk

2) For the review on shared sanitation, we have defined this as sanitary facilities that are shared between households and those which are publicly managed (excluding institutionally managed such as school).  This includes any research involving (i) any health outcomes associated with shared sanitation (e.g. hygiene, nutrition) (ii) any additional factors associated with shared sanitation, such as operation & maintenance, ownership, dignity, education, pit-emptying, OR (iii) any outcomes of comparative studies between shared sanitation and individual household latrines. If so, please contact Marieke.Heijnen@lshtm.ac.uk

If you are aware of anything that may fall within the scope of these reviews, please email above contacts within the next two weeks. If possible, with a copy of the relevant reports. If you know of anyone that might be aware of any such work, we would be grateful if you could forward this request on our behalf.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance.

Rachel Peletz and Marieke Heijnen
PhD Candidates
Department of Disease Control
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →