Clean Water Facilities Research Articles

Factors Associated With Occurrence of Cysticercosis Among Wamena People’s, at Jayawijaya District, Papua Province, In 2002

Cysticercosis is a disease caused by the larva of Taenia solium, the pig tapeworm, whereas taeniasis solium is caused by the adult worm, which lives in the small human intestines. The prevalence of taeniasis/cysticercosis in Indonesia varies from 1.0% to 42.7% and until now is found predominantly in three provinces i.e. Bali, North Sumatera and Papua. The highest prevalence was found in Papua during the year 1997 (42,7%). This case-control study was designed for finding factors in connection with the existing cysticercosis in Sub-district Wamena, District Jawawijaya. The number of cases consisted of all patients suffering from cysticercosis aged more than 8 years, found by questionaires during a survey for Taeniasis, Cysticercosis and Neurocysticercosis, conducted by the team from January till February 2002 and the control group consisted of individuals without cysticercosis during the survey. The diagnosis of cysticercosis was determined with ELISA by antibody detection of the parasites in the serum of both groups. Among the total number of variables several factors were found significantly associated with the existence of cysticercosis after calculation as a whole i.e. washing hands (OR 4.9 95%CI:2.55-9.61), profession (OR 2.11 95%CI:1.14-3.91), frequency of bathing (OR 2.59 95%CI:1.31-5.13), source of clean water (OR 2.41 95%CI:1.31- 4.44) and sanitation (OR 6.25 95%CI:3.14-12.44). Community health education is recommended on topics such as the habit of washing hands, bathing with clean water and using standard toilets. It is suggested that the local government provides clean water facilities and general sanitation facilities.

Can the divide be bridged: Overview of life in urban slums in India

Can the divide be bridged: Overview of life in urban slums in India

Baseline health situation of communities affected by the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project in central Lao PDR and indicators for monitoring

Hydroelectric projects offer opportunities for infrastructure development and economic growth; yet, if not well designed, implemented and operated, they have the potential to negatively affect the health and well-being of local and distant downstream communities. Remote rural populations are particularly vulnerable to the sudden influx of men, materials and money, and associated population mixing that accompany project construction phases. Two large-scale baseline health surveys, carried out in 2001/2002 in two communities that were affected by the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project in central Lao PDR, were analysed. For the population to be resettled on the Nakai plateau it was observed that access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities was lacking. Faecal examinations revealed a high infection prevalence for Ascaris lumbricoides (67.7%), but relatively low prevalences for hookworm (9.7%), Taenia spp. (4.8%), Enterobius vermicularis (4.4%), Trichuris trichiura (3.9%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.4%) and Opisthorchis viverrini (0.9%). For the population in the Xe Bang Fai downstream area, rapid diagnostic tests for malaria carried out in the rainy season found a prevalence below 1%, which might be explained by the complete coverage of households with insecticide-treated nets (99.8%). Anthropometric measurements in both populations suggest that wasting, stunting and underweight in under 5-year-old children were moderate to high; 15.9–17.5%, 40.4–55.7% and 35.8–55.7%, respectively. One out of six individuals aged above 14 years were malnourished, most likely as a result of early childhood wasting. Moderate anaemia, assessed by age- and sex-specific haemoglobin levels, was present in 43.8% (Nakai) and 54.9% of the individuals examined (Xe Bang Fai). Several indicators were extracted that can be utilised for monitoring changes in health, well-being and equity, as the project is implemented and operated.

Ethical considerations of the short-term and long-term health impacts, costs, and educational value of sustainable development projects

There are over 800 seventh to tenth grade students at the College d'Enseignment Generale (CEG) School in Azové, Benin. Like most children in the developing world, these students lack access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities. These students suffer from parasitic infection and health ailments which could be directly offset with short term aid to supply water and medical aid. Promoting proper sanitation and providing the technology to implement water and wastewater treatment in the community will decrease childhood and maternal disease and mortality rates in Azové. However, these measures may take several years to implement and will require a significant investment in the infrastructure of the school. Is it ethical to spend 10,000 dollars towards the long-term goals of providing water and sanitation to the students of CEG Azové, compared to spending the same amount on short-term relief efforts? This paper addresses the ethical dilemma of dealing with immediate medical needs in developing countries while trying to implement sustainable technologies. The views and frustration of students working on the project are discussed, as they realize the monetary and short-term impacts on human health when implementing sustainable technologies. The opportunity costs associated with the education principles of sustainable development were also considered. The anticipated costs and health impacts in the short-term and long-term will be evaluated for a period of 1, 2, 5 and 10 years. Sustainable development requires a new way of thinking, and a long-term approach. These problems will require the dedication of a new generation of engineers, working hand-in-hand with local communities and governments, social scientists, economists, businesses, human rights organizations, other non-government organizations, and international development organizations. Design projects encourage the professional and ethical development of engineers through hands-on involvement in national and international development projects.

Learning Sustainability by Design

Engineering education has focused on the mathematical and scientific principles which underpin proper design. Technological capabilities have, in some instances, overcome society's ability to adapt behavior to new technologies. Sustainable systems should be engineered to address economic, environmental, and behavioral issues as well as technical issues. Developing education curricula that encourages students to consider all facets involved in sustainable systems has challenged engineering programs. A pilot course based upon the design of a sanitation facility for a school in Azové, Benin, was taught in the 2004–2005 academic year. The objective of the course was to create a meaningful project that would teach sustainability as part of the design process. Over 1,200 7th- to 10th-grade students at CEG in Azové lack access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities. A site visit to the CEG confirmed that water and sanitation were priorities of the school board and parents of the children. Students at Gonzaga University designed a water and sanitation system for CEG and learned about sustainability requirements for structures, hydraulics, and water and wastewater treatment. Upon implementation of the proposed design, exposure to pathogenic organisms is expected to decrease substantially. Students were encouraged to consider sustainability issues in design and problems associated with water and sanitation in the developing world. Incorporating sustainability lessons through design and peer presentation significantly improved the education in global awareness and sustainability as perceived by students and professionals.

Water and the rural poor in Latin America: The case of Tlamacazapa, Guerrero, Mexico

The future of hydrogeology requires a move beyond a narrow technical paradigm and necessitates asking questions related to “people” and “process” within an integrated and cohesive water framework. This essay discusses water in relation to poor people, employing a focus on Tlamacazapa as exemplifying on a micro scale many problems that occur on a macro scale in Latin America and globally. The first author has personally worked in Tlamacazapa regularly for seven years and knows that context and its people well. Tlamacazapa is a notably complicated setting in which organizations called Caminamos Juntos (CJ) [literal translation: we are walking together] and its partners in collaboration with a small number of village women are making slow, often painful, advances. To discuss “water and poverty” is to focus primarily on people. This essay describes a process unfolding in the midst of complicated dynamics and power struggles, often about water. A view of water that concentrates on its “technical” aspects (with an occasional nod to people as is common in technical assessments and programs) will seriously underestimate the complexity of any work towards the long-term improvement of water use, access, quality, policy and systems. Those readers working from a quantitative, empirical mindset might prefer inclusion of more facts and figures in this essay, in particular those showing the effectiveness and impact of CJ programs. If such data existed, it certainly would have been included; no one has reliable numbers for Tlamacazapa. As long as the main characteristics of a community are disorganization, distrust and violence, it is nearly impossible to get meaningful statistics. One must first focus long and hard on the inter-related processes that build trust, self-esteem and capacity. This is admittedly and clearly a work in progress. A small group of outside individuals (of international and Mexican origin) is committed to working closely with local villagers, largely women, over the long term. These individuals take the same risks that villagers live with everyday, and deal with the established negative behavior patterns (bandit assaults; contracts to cause harm; threats both verbal and implied; and unwarranted insults, nasty gossip, lies and manipulation). “Outsiders” can work with “insiders” to generate a hopeful energy, while asking simultaneously important questions about the synergistic negative effects of toxins, malnutrition, beliefs of the “evil eye” and isolation on the health and creativity of local people over time. There is no breakdown or step-by-step recipe for this type of iterative, evolving humanistic work that combines serious inquiry with determined action and loving compassion. Certain principles guide attitudes, decisions and actions; these principles are briefly highlighted. Worldwide, about two billion people struggle daily for access to clean and sufficient water and adequate sanitation facilities, while those in wealthier and healthier countries take good water and sanitation largely for granted. Our sobering reality is that about 6,000 children die everyday from diseases associated with unclean drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene (UNESCO/ UN 2003). The families of these children are generally poor, trapped in downward-spiraling cycles of poverty, illness and powerlessness. These deaths are largely preventable through the implementation of acceptable water and hygiene-related measures. “Inadequate access to water forms a central part of people’s poverty, affecting their basic needs, health, food security and basic livelihoods. Improving the access of poor people to water has the potential to make a major contribution towards poverty eradication.” (UNESCO World Water Development Report 2003, p. 6) Water is a universal treasure. Access to sufficient clean water and adequate sanitation has been internationally recognized as a basic human right, and is a prerequisite to the achievement of a minimum standard of health and to productive work. Latin America depends heavily on groundwater to satisfy its ever-growing water needs. Although there is little published data regarding Latin America, groundwater provides drinking water to about 75 million inhabitants of Mexico (Marin 2002). Conventional approaches to water programming in communities tend to be based on overly simplistic understandings of community context and relationships. These approaches most frequently underestimate the effects of existing power dynamics and the common reality of water as hard work, costly or conflict ridden. All too often, “poverty” is understood solely in the economic terms of a person’s monetary income. This essay considers water within the dialectic interplay of oppression and poverty, a situation common throughout Latin America, using an example of rural Mexico. The villagers of Tlamacazapa live in poverty, both economic and spiritual, and within oppression, both internal and external. They have lacked sufficient water for generations. Outlining their context exemplifies the complexity of water and sanitation while acknowledging the realities and risks of working for its betterment.

A Comparative Study on Working Housemaids and a Control Group

Objective : To study the health status of paid housemaids within the age range of 15-55 years and above, in the study area. To compare the health status, morbidity pattern and some health related factors like contraceptive practices, between the working and non-working women of the same age-range, neighbourhood and socio-economic status and to identify any difference if existing between the two groups. To find out whether there is any specific health risk for the working women, related to their economic activity. To provide recommendations for specific conditions as observed. Study design : Cross sectional study. Method : Interview, physical examination. Setting : Slum settlement adjacent to Hooghly Station area, West Bengal. Participants : Women in the slum area, working in different houses of the neighbourhood as housemaids, constitute the study group. Same number of nonworking women from the same slum area, of similar age-range and socio-economic conditions were taken as controls. Results : The women of both the study and the control group live in appalling condition in small earthen huts with thatched roof. There is a gross lack of clean drinking water and sanitary facilities, for both the groups. A high prevalence of anaemia was found among both the working and non-working women under study. The working women are consistently found to have higher number of children than the non-working women, which may be a reason for their economic activity. The working women are also found to have their first childbirth at a relatively later age. Regarding contraceptive practices, most of the working women are found to accept the permanent method, whereas the non-working women under study have mostly opted for the temporary methods, specially the contraceptive.

Sociodemographic, hygienic and nutritional correlates of Helicobacter pylori infection of young Bangladeshi children.

By the age of 10 years most children in developing countries have been infected by Helicobacter pylori Identification of clues to modes of transmission of this organism to children, as well as evaluation of the sequelae of childhood infections, constitute important research priorities for developing countries. To evaluate demographic, socioeconomic and hygienic factors associated with acquisition of infection by H. pylori early in childhood among Bangladeshi children ages 2 to 5 years and to assess whether infection by H. pylori was associated with poor nutritional status in these children and in an older group ages 6 to 9 years. A random population-based survey of 257 rural Bangladeshi children ages 2 to 5 years and 312 children ages 6 to 9 years. Seropositivity for H. pylori, as manifested by the presence of serum IgG anti-H. pylori antibodies, was correlated with nutritional status of the sampled children and with sociodemographic features and access to clean water and latrine facilities among families of the children. Among children ages 2 to 5 years, the 123 (48%) who were infected by H. pylori were similar to the 134 noninfected children with respect to socioeconomic level, family access to tube well water and family ownership of a latrine. However, families of infected children had more persons per sleeping room in the home (3.8 vs. 3.2, P < 0.05) and were more likely to be Hindu (20% vs. 10%, P < 0.05). Infected children did not differ significantly from noninfected children in Z scores for weight-for-age (-2.66 vs. -2.78), weight-for-height (-1.17 vs. -1.28) or height-for-age (-3.58 vs. -3.56). Analysis of survey children ages 6 to 9 years also revealed similar nutritional indexes among infected vs. noninfected children. Household crowding and behaviors that differ between Hindus and Muslims, but not lack of access to clean water and latrines, may enhance the transmission of H. pylori to rural Bangladeshi children. Although confirming the high frequency of infections in young Bangladeshi children, our findings do not support the notion that H. pylori is responsible for the high prevalence of malnutrition in this setting.