AFRO-NETS> What's New at the Environmental Health Project - September 2002

[Dan Campbell <CampbellDB@ehproject.org>]

What's New at the Environmental Health Project - September 2002
---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear colleagues: 

Welcome to "EHP News", the E-newsletter of the Environmental Health 
Project. This issue as well as previous issues of our newsletter, new 
reports and other resources can be accessed on our Web site at:
http://www.ehproject.org

Questions and comments about our project or this E-newsletter are 
very welcome. To subscribe, please
mailto:info@ehproject.org

We hope you enjoy our newsletter. 

May Post 
Dan Campbell 
Abdulzatar Kuku
Milton E. Stern

EHP Information Center
mailto:CampbellDB@EHProject.org


******************************************
Environmental Health Project E-Newsletter
September 2002
Vol. 2, No. 5
******************************************

IN THIS ISSUE:

* WEST BANK ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT
* A DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP ON SMALL TOWNS' SANITATION IN LATIN 
  AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
* GHANA URBAN HEALTH ASSESSMENT
* NEWS FROM THE BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA AND NEPAL (BBIN) NETWORK
* HONDURAS: DEVELOPMENT OF A SUPERVISORY SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
  HEALTH TECHNICIANS
* NEW EHP PUBLICATIONS!

*****************************************
WEST BANK ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT

An environmental health assessment of the U.S. Agency for Interna-
tional Development (USAID) Village and Water Sanitation (VWS) Program 
in the West Bank has been completed. The field work, carried out by 
EHP and Save the Children, was completed over a two-week period in 
January 2002 under very difficult conditions. 

The VWS program is a two-year initiative funded by USAID and under-
taken by EHP in close collaboration with the Palestinian Water Au-
thority and other concerned national agencies. The purpose of the VWS 
Program is to provide safe and sustainable water and sanitation ser-
vices to an estimated 140,000 people living in 50 underserved commu-
nities in the West Bank in areas west of Hebron and south of Nablus.

The assessment focused on access to and types of water supply and 
sanitation facilities, quality of domestic drinking water, knowledge 
and practices related to handwashing in school children (6-12 years), 
prevalence of waterborne and sanitation-related diseases among chil-
dren under five, and hygiene knowledge and behavior of caretakers of 
children under five and school-age children. This is the first in a 
series of operational research activities that are intended to pro-
vide information for the design phase of the project and to identify 
appropriate indicators for evaluating program outputs and impacts on 
behavior and possibly health. 

The report, "USAID Village and Sanitation Program, West Bank of Pal-
estine - Environmental Health Assessment Phase I" is now available 
from EHP (see "New EHP Publications" below).

For information on the activity, please contact 
Craig Hafner
mailto:hafnercr@ehproject.org 

*****************************************

A DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP ON SMALL TOWNS' SANITATION IN LATIN AMERICA 
AND THE CARIBBEAN

In recent years, there has been a significant and growing interest in 
improving water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in small towns. 
Small towns are not large enough for a conventional utility but often 
too big for community-managed water supply and sanitation models used 
in rural areas. Sanitation services in small towns require formal 
management arrangements, a legal basis for ownership and the ability 
to expand to meet growing demand. In Latin America, small towns tend 
to have populations of 5,000-25,000. 

Over the past year, with support from USAID's Latin America and the 
Caribbean Bureau, Office of Regional Sustainable Development 
(LAC/RSD), EHP has developed a methodology for improving sanitation 
in small towns in Latin America and the Caribbean. This methodology 
has been field tested in Ecuador, Panama and Jamaica. The report, 
"Improving Sanitation in Small Towns in Latin America and the Carib-
bean: Practical Methodology for Designing a Sustainable Sanitation 
Plan" is now available from EHP (see "New EHP Publications" below).

To introduce the methodology, develop strategies for its use and to 
identify actions for follow-up, two dissemination workshops have been 
planned. The first workshop will be held in Peru, October 1-3, 2002, 
and will include participants form Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Para-
guay. The second is planned for November 19-21, 2002, in Honduras for 
Central American countries. 

For more information on the workshop or the activity, please contact 
Fred Rosensweig 
mailto:rosensweigfj@ehproject.org

*****************************************

GHANA URBAN HEALTH ASSESSMENT

The urban population in Ghana currently constitutes 38% of the total 
population and is growing at over twice the rate as that of rural ar-
eas. Given this rapid urbanization scenario, USAID/Ghana is inter-
ested in achieving a better understanding of urban poor health condi-
tions.

The Environmental Health Project (EHP) was tasked by USAID/Ghana, 
USAID Bureau for Global Health/Office of Health and Nutrition and 
USAID Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade/Office of En-
vironment and Urban Programs to conduct an assessment of the health 
needs of the urban poor in Ghana. The assessment information is an-
ticipated to provide a road map for possible Mission interventions 
related to poor health in urban areas and to feed into future urban 
slum health programming under USAID/Ghana's country strategy.

A team of two EHP consultants and two consultants from Ghana has com-
pleted a literature review and on-the-ground assessment of conditions 
in the urban slums of Accra and Kumasi. Key findings show that clean 
water supply and sanitation, in particular, are the most critical 
needs for improving poor health in urban areas and that services for 
the urban poor are inadequate. A draft assessment report of findings 
and strategic recommendations for USAID/Ghana is now under prepara-
tion. 

For more information on the activity, contact 
Sarah Fry
mailto:frysk@ehproject.org 

*****************************************

NEWS FROM THE BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA AND NEPAL (BBIN) NETWORK

Due to increased population movement across common borders in South 
Asia, cross-border spread of vector-borne diseases is on the rise. 
The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) network for vector-
borne diseases was conceived two years ago to facilitate regular in-
formation sharing and standardized surveillance approaches. With sup-
port from USAID/Nepal, EHP/Nepal played a major role in the BBIN net-
work including taking the lead in establishing partnerships, forging 
the links between the four member countries, conducting regional 
workshops and establishing and managing the BBIN Web site for infor-
mation sharing. 

The BBIN Web site was currently updated with new features that in-
clude: a new country page from "Bangladesh"; a "Breaking News" sec-
tion reporting vector-borne disease outbreaks, epidemics and related 
actions in the region; an "Events" page covering "Current Events," 
"Previous Events" and "Upcoming Regional Events" with emphasis on 
cross-border issues; an "Information Exchange" page; and a "Library" 
page with regional news bulletins/publications and relevant reports. 

Check out the BBIN Web site at http://www.bbin.org 

For information on the BBIN and cross-border vector-borne disease 
initiatives, please
mailto:ehp@wlink.com.np

*****************************************

HONDURAS: DEVELOPMENT OF A SUPERVISORY SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH TECHNICIANS

USAID has been working with the Honduran Ministry of Health (MOH) 
since 1993 in the development of an integrated environmental health 
program. To date, the MOH has trained 270 environmental health tech-
nicians, with more anticipated to be trained in the future. The MOH 
also is in the process of training 50 supervisory staff. 

USAID/Honduras has requested EHP to assist the MOH in developing a 
framework for the supervisory staff, which includes task definition, 
evaluation and reporting. An EHP consultant has carried out a first 
visit to assess the status of the current program for environmental 
health technicians and make recommendations for improvement. Two more 
visits are planned. For more information on the activity, please con-
tact 
Fred Rosensweig
mailto:rosensweigfj@ehproject.org

*****************************************

NEW EHP PUBLICATIONS!

1. Activity Report on Phase II of the Peru Lead Project 

Activity Report 110, "Support for Phase II of the Peru Lead Project 
to Determine Blood and Ambient Lead Levels in Metropolitan Lima and 
to Manage the Lead Exposure Problem in Critical Areas"

In 1997, a collaboration was initiated between USAID/Peru and the Pe-
ruvian Ministry of Health's General Directorate of Environmental 
Health (DIGESA) to implement a program to phase out lead from gaso-
line. As part of the program, a blood-lead study was implemented to 
obtain baseline data to monitor changes in blood lead levels associ-
ated with the phase-out. The study conducted by DIGESA among high-
risk populations, mainly children and women living in Lima and Ca-
llao, showed severe lead contamination in an area near the port of 
Callao. The findings highlighted a need to look at probable sources 
of contamination other than leaded gasoline. As a result, DIGESA, EHP 
and USAID implemented a follow-on phase of the study. The purpose of 
the Peru Lead Project Phase II was to clearly identify all possible 
sources of lead exposure and to provide technical assistance and sup-
port to DIGESA to manage the problem.

A 1.12 MB PDF version of the report is available at: 

http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Activity_Reports/AR110-PELeadPrj2Final.pdf

For more information or a hard copy of the report,
mailto:info@ehproject.org


--
2. Strategic Report on Sanitation in Small Latin American Towns

Strategic Report 3. Improving Sanitation in Small Towns in Latin 
America and the Caribbean - Practical Methodology for Designing a 
Sustainable Sanitation Plan

Over the past year, with support from USAID's Latin America and the 
Caribbean Bureau, Office of Regional Sustainable Development 
(LAC/RSD), EHP has developed a methodology for improving sanitation 
in small towns in Latin America and the Caribbean. This methodology 
has been field tested in Ecuador, Panama and Jamaica. 

A 1.86 MB PDF version of the report, "Improving Sanitation in Small 
Towns in Latin America and the Caribbean: Practical Methodology for 
Designing a Sustainable Sanitation Plan," is available at:

http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Strategic_papers/SR3LACSanSmTwnsCombinedFINAL.pdf

A 2.46 MB Spanish version of the report also is available at: 

http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Strategic_papers/SR3-LACSPANISH.pdf

For more information or a hard copy of the report,
mailto:info@ehproject.org


--
3. Joint publication on USAID Village and Sanitation Program West 
Bank of Palestine

Joint Publication 5. USAID Village and Sanitation Program, West Bank 
of Palestine - Environmental Health Assessment Phase I

An environmental health assessment of the U.S. Agency for Interna-
tional Development (USAID) Village and Water Sanitation (VWS) Program 
in the West Bank has been completed. The field work was carried out 
by EHP and Save the Children over a two-week period in January 2002 
under very difficult conditions. 

The assessment focused on access to and types of water supply and 
sanitation facilities, quality of domestic drinking water, knowledge 
and practices related to handwashing in school children (6-12 years), 
prevalence of waterborne and sanitation-related diseases among chil-
dren under five, and hygiene knowledge and behavior of caretakers of 
children under five and school-age children.

This publication, in collaboration with Save the Children, presents 
the results of this assessment.

A 2.32 MB PDF version of the report is available at:

http://www.ehproject.org/PDF/Joint_Publications/JP005WestBankAssessfinal.pdf

For more information or a hard copy of the report, 
mailto:info@ehproject.org

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