100 issues of the WASHplus Weekly – March 2011 to May 4, 2013

Below are links to the past 100 issues of the WASHplus Weekly on various sanitation and other topics. We welcome suggestions on how to make the Weekly more useful.

2013

• May 4: Water & Food Security
• Apr 26: Focus on Cookstoves & the Environment
• Apr 19: Focus on Handwashing
• Apr 12: Focus on Financing WASH Services
• Apr 5:  Focus on Urban Sanitation
• Mar 29: Focus on Household Air Pollution
• Mar 21: Focus on World Water Day 2013
• Mar 15: Focus on WASH Sustainability
• Mar 8: Focus on Gender Issues
• Feb 22: Focus on Sanitation Marketing
• Feb 15: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage
• Feb 8: Focus on Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Feb 1: Focus on Cookstove Stacking
• Jan 25: Focus on WASH & Maternal Health
• Jan 18: Focus on Post-2015 MDG Goals
• Jan 11: Focus on WASH and Environmental Conservation

2012

• Dec 21: Focus on HAP & the Global Burden of Disease
• Dec 14: Focus on Community-Led Total Sanitation
• Dec 7: Focus on Water Kiosks
• Nov 30: Focus on Fecal Sludge Management
• Nov 16: Focus on World Toilet Day 2012
• Nov 9: Focus on World Pneumonia Day 2012
• Nov 2: Focus on Water Conflicts
• Oct 26: Focus on Climate Change
• Oct 19: Focus on Waste Pickers
• Oct 12: Focus on Global Handwashing Day 2012
• Oct 5: Focus on Water Technologies
• Sept 28: Focus on WASH & Household Energy Entrepreneurs
• Sept 14: Focus on Household Water Treatment & Safe Storage
• Sept 7: Focus on WASH & Child Survival

Rose George – Reflections on menstrual hygiene management

Published on May 3, 2013 - Presentation by Rose George (journalist and author of ‘The Big Necessity’ http://www.rosegeorge.com) at “Making connections: Women, sanitation and health” event.

SHARE – Making connections: Women, sanitation and health

Published on May 3, 2013 – “Making connections: Women, sanitation and health” took place on 29th April 2013 at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). It was convened by LSHTM and WaterAid as partners of the SHARE Research Consortium. The event brought together a diverse mix of academics, journalists, practitioners and activists from the WASH, gender and health sectors to present and debate critical issues on linking gender, sanitation and health including violence against women and girls, maternal health and menstrual hygiene.

Educational cartoon boosts worm infection prevention

Cover of the Cartoon “The Magic Glasses.

Educational cartoon boosts worm infection prevention | Source: News-Medical, Apr 29, 2013 |

Researchers in China have found that a health education package targeted at schoolchildren can improve hygiene behaviors and reduce the incidence of soil-transmitted helminth infection.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, included 1718 school children aged 9 to 10 years, of whom 893 attended control schools (n=19), and 825 attended intervention schools (n=19). The research was conducted in rural Linxiang City District, Hunan province, where there is a high prevalence of helminth infection but limited awareness or educational activity about the risks.

Both control and intervention schools displayed an awareness poster. However, in the intervention schools, students also took part in an educational package, including a 12-minute cartoon promoting knowledge and prevention awareness, followed by classroom discussions. They also took part in drawing and writing competitions that reinforced the cartoon’s messages, and received a pamphlet summarizing the main points. All students received albendazole treatment at baseline.

Review of the Health and Social Effects of Menstrual Hygiene Management

A Systematic Review of the Health and Social Effects of Menstrual Hygiene Management. PLoS ONE 8(4) 2013.

• Full text

Sumpter C, Torondel B

Background – Differing approaches to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) have been associated with a wide range of health and psycho-social outcomes in lower income settings. This paper systematically collates, summarizes and critically appraises the available evidence. 

Methods – Following the PRISMA guidelines a structured search strategy was used to identify articles investigating the effects of MHM on health and psycho-social outcomes. The search was conducted in May 2012 and had no date limit. Data was extracted and quality of methodology was independently assessed by two researchers. Where no measure of effect was provided, but sufficient data were available to calculate one, this was undertaken. Meta-analysis was conducted where sufficient data were available.

Results – 14 articles were identified which looked at health outcomes, primarily reproductive tract infections (RTI). 11 articles were identified investigating associations between MHM, social restrictions and school attendance. MHM was found to be associated with RTI in 7 papers. Methodologies however varied greatly and overall quality was low. Meta-analysis of a subset of studies found no association between confirmed bacterial vaginosis and MHM (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.52–2.24). No other substantial associations with health outcomes were found. Although there was good evidence that educational interventions can improve MHM practices and reduce social restrictions there was no quantitative evidence that improvements in management methods reduce school absenteeism.

Conclusion – The management of menstruation presents significant challenges for women in lower income settings; the effect of poor MHM however remains unclear. It is plausible that MHM can affect the reproductive tract but the specific infections, the strength of effect, and the route of transmission, remain unclear. There is a gap in the evidence for high quality randomised intervention studies which combine hardware and software interventions, in particular for better understanding the nuanced effect improving MHM may have on girls’ attendance at school

May 8, 2013 Webinar – Removing Barriers to WASH by the RWSN equity and inclusion group

The RWSN equity and inclusion group is pleased to announce its latest webinar on Removing Barriers to WASH. If you would like to attend, please inform ShamilaJansz@wateraid.org. For more details, see below:  

Description: WEDC and WaterAid have developed a new set of ‘Equity and Inclusion in WASH’ learning materials.

We have been collaborating to develop practical training materials for WASH practitioners, to help them analyse and address the problems faced by the most disadvantaged people in accessing WASH services. Extensively field-tested by WaterAid and WEDC in Africa and Asia, the materials are participatory and interactive, and are ideal to facilitate practical collaboration and problem-solving between disabled people and technical service providers. They can be used as stand-alone activities, or as part of a broader training programme. Although rooted in the social model of disability, the scope of the analysis framework has been broadened to encompass exclusion of all kinds. This makes the materials useful in building alliances with groups working on other issues, e.g. gender, HIV, ageing.

Lancet – Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhea

Articles in this series can be downloaded at no charge, but registration is required:

Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhea. Lancet, April 12, 2013

• Link

Summary

The Lancet Series on Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea, led by Aga Khan University, Pakistan, provides evidence for integrated control efforts for childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea. The first paper assesses the global burden of these two illnesses, comparing and contrasting them, and includes new estimates of severe disease and updated mortality estimates for 2011. Findings from the second paper show that a set of highly cost-effective interventions can prevent most diarrhoea deaths and nearly two thirds of pneumonia deaths by 2025, if delivered at scale. Furthermore, the paper estimates what the cost of scale up will be. The third paper presents the results of consultations with several hundred frontline workers in high-burden countries and explores the barriers and enablers they face in dealing with these two diseases and potential ways forward. The final paper represents a call to action and discusses the global and country-level remedies needed to eliminate preventable deaths from these illnesses by 2025. 

Papers
Global burden of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia
Christa L Fischer Walker, Igor Rudan, Li Liu, Harish Nair, Evropi Theodoratou, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Katherine L O’Brien, Harry Campbell, Robert E Black

• Full Text | PDF

Pit Latrines and Their Impacts on Groundwater Quality: A Systematic Review

Pit Latrines and Their Impacts on Groundwater Quality: A Systematic Review. Environ Health Perspect, March 22, 2013. doi:10.1289/ehp.1206028

• Full text

Jay P. Graham and Matthew L. Polizzotto.

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Department of Global Health, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, USA

————————————————-

Background: Pit latrines are one of the most common human excreta disposal systems in low-income countries, and their use is on the rise as countries aim to meet the sanitation-related target of the Millennium Development Goals. There is concern, however, that pit latrine discharges of chemical and microbial contaminants to groundwater may negatively affect human health.

Objectives: Our goals were to 1) calculate global pit latrine coverage, 2) systematically review empirical studies of the impacts of pit latrines on groundwater quality, 3) evaluate latrine siting standards, and 4) identify knowledge gaps regarding the potential for and consequences of groundwater contamination by latrines.

Methods: We used existing survey and population data to calculate global pit latrine coverage. We reviewed the scientific literature on the occurrence of contaminants originating from pit latrines and considered the factors affecting transport of these contaminants. Data were extracted from peer-reviewed articles, books and reports identified using Web of ScienceSM, PubMed, Google, and document reference lists.

Discussion: We estimated that approximately 1.77 billion people use pit latrines as their primary means of sanitation. Studies of pit latrines and groundwater are limited and have generally focused on only a few indicator contaminants. Although groundwater contamination is frequently observed downstream of latrines, contaminant transport distances, recommendations based on empirical studies, and siting guidelines are variable and not well aligned with one another.

Conclusions: In order to improve environmental and human health, future research should examine a larger set of contextual variables, improve measurement approaches, and develop better criteria for siting pit latrines.

Empirical Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density and Neighborhood-Level Sanitation…

Empirical Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density and Neighborhood-Level Sanitation Access to Fecal-Associated Health Impacts

RFA#:WASH2013-001 

• Status:Posted:March 18, 2013
• Questions Due:Monday, April 1, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)
• Applications Due: Monday, April 29, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to fund research that will more fully characterize the relative health impact (i.e., diarrheal diseases, STH infections, and anthropometric measures in children) of sanitation coverage in areas marked by high population densities compared to those with lower population densities.

The TRAction Project anticipates making one award not to exceed 2,000,000 USD to achieve the purpose of this RFA.

Results of this research will be shared with national decision-makers, program implementers, researchers, and other stakeholders to promote learning and inform the targeting of sanitation interventions.

Attachment	Size
Appendix E_TEMPLATE SubAgreement Template.pdf	139.19 KB
WASH RFA– Empirical Study of Urban WASH Impacts.pdf	364.74 KB
budget template.xls	153 KB

Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density…

Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density and Neighborhood-Level Sanitation Access to Fecal-Associated Health Impacts

RFA#:WASH2013-002 

• Status:Current
• Posted:March 18, 2013
• Questions Due:Monday, April 1, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)
• Applications Due:Monday, April 29, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to fund research involving the secondary analysis of data that will more fully characterize the relative health impact (i.e., diarrheal diseases, STH infections, and anthropometric measures in children) of sanitation coverage in areas marked by high population densities compared to those with lower population densities.

The TRAction Project anticipates making one or more awards of approximately 50,000-100,000 USD each to achieve the purpose of this RFA.

Results of this research will be shared with national decision-makers, program implementers, researchers, and other stakeholders to promote learning and inform the targeting of sanitation interventions.

Attachment	Size
WASH RFA– Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts.pdf	376.06 KB
Appendix E_TEMPLATE SubAgreement Template.pdf	139.19 KB
budget template.xls	153 KB