A framework for targeting water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in pastoralist populations in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

Barbara Van Koppen,Sarah Cooper,Abinet Kebede,Solome Joseph,Paul Hutchings,John Butterworth,Lucy Whitley,Alison Parker,Adolph Mulejaa

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.08.001

Abstract

Globally, many populations face structural and environmental barriers to access safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Among these populations are many of the 200 million pastoralists whose livelihood patterns and extreme environmental settings challenge conventional WASH programming approaches. In this paper, we studied the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia to identify WASH interventions that can mostly alleviate public health risks, within the population's structural and environmental living constraints. Surveys were carried out with 148 individuals and observational assessments made in 12 households as part of a Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment. The results show that low levels of access to infrastructure are further compounded by risky behaviours related to water containment, storage and transportation. Additional behavioural risk factors were identified related to sanitation, hygiene and animal husbandry. The Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment visually interprets the seriousness of the risks against the difficulty of addressing the problem. The assessment recommends interventions on household behaviours, environmental cleanliness, water storage, treatment and hand hygiene via small-scale educational interventions. The framework provides an approach for assessing risks in other marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches.

Highlights

Contributing to improved public health, nutrition, education and equality, access to safe drinking water, effective sanitation systems and good hygiene practices (WASH) plays a huge role in the global movement towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
An analysis of data by Prüss-Ustün et al (2014) estimated that 58% of diarrhoeal diseases in 2012 were the result of a cluster of risks associated with inadequate WASH facilities
Many pastoralists live in the precarious situation of being reliant on government support, but are having their customary management systems disrupted by broader development initiatives

Summary

Introduction

Contributing to improved public health, nutrition, education and equality, access to safe drinking water, effective sanitation systems and good hygiene practices (WASH) plays a huge role in the global movement towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), reporting on the progression of WASH across the SDG regions, concluded that almost 581 million people are still collecting drinking water from surface water or unprotected groundwater sources and a further 892 million people are still practising open defecation (WHO and UNICEF, 2017a). These unsafe sources and practices increase exposure to pathogens (disease-causing bacterial, viral or parasitic organisms) and are a cause of serious public health issues. The continuous exposure to faecal pathogens causes gut inflammation, diarrhoeal episodes and dehydration, and is further linked to malnutrition and poor child development, such as stunted growth (Ngure et al, 2014)

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Results

Conclusion