Criteria for successful sanitation programmes in low income countries.
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In the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-90), the development of a consensus on the concept of sanitation and the planning and implementation of effective and efficient sanitation programmes was not emphasized. Yet lack of good sanitation is a growing burden and environmental threat. Significant improvement of human health cannot be achieved without good environmental sanitation conditions and practices. A consensus on what makes a sanitation programme successful can help to conserve limited funds and spend those available more wisely. It will also help to reduce the increasing flows of waste poisoning precious sources of drinking water. This article was written to stimulate discussion on what attributes can be taken as characteristic of good environmental sanitation programmes, and on which indicators can be used to assess those attributes in actual sanitation programmes. (+info)
A reassessment of the cost-effectiveness of water and sanitation interventions in programmes for controlling childhood diarrhoea.
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Cost-effectiveness analysis indicates that some water supply and sanitation (WSS) interventions are highly cost-effective for the control of diarrhoea among under-5-year-olds, on a par with oral rehydration therapy. These are relatively inexpensive "software-related" interventions such as hygiene education, social marketing of good hygiene practices, regulation of drinking-water, and monitoring of water quality. Such interventions are needed to ensure that the potentially positive health impacts of WSS infrastructure are fully realized in practice. The perception that WSS programmes are not a cost-effective use of health sector resources has arisen from three factors: an assumption that all WSS interventions involve construction of physical infrastructure, a misperception of the health sector's role in WSS programmes, and a misunderstanding of the scope of cost-effectiveness analysis. WSS infrastructure ("hardware") is generally built and operated by public works agencies and financed by construction grants, operational subsidies, user fees and property taxes. Health sector agencies should provide "software" such as project design, hygiene education, and water quality regulation. Cost-effectiveness analysis should measure the incremental health impacts attributable to health sector investments, using the actual call on health sector resources as the measure of cost. The cost-effectiveness of a set of hardware and software combinations is estimated, using US$ per case averted, US$ per death averted, and US$ per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) saved. (+info)
Variations in infant mortality rates among municipalities in the state of Ceara, Northeast Brazil: an ecological analysis.
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BACKGROUND: Infant mortality rates vary substantially among municipalities in the State of Ceara, from 14 to 193 per 1000 live births. Identification of the determinants of these differences can be of particular importance to infant health policy and programmes in Brazil where local governments play a pivotal role in providing primary health care. METHODS: Ecological study across 140 municipalities in the State of Ceara, Brazil. RESULTS: To determine the interrelationships between potential predictors of infant mortality, we classified 11 variables into proximate determinants (adequate weight gain and exclusively breastfeeding), health services variables (prenatal care up-to-date, participation in growth monitoring, immunization up-to-date, and decentralization of health services), and socioeconomic factors (female literacy rate, household income, adequate water supply, adequate sanitation, and per capita gross municipality product), and included the variables in each group simultaneously in linear regression models. In these analyses, only one of the proximate determinants (exclusively breastfeeding (inversely), R2 = 9.3) and one of the health services variables (prenatal care up-to-date (inversely), R2 = 22.8) remained significantly associated with infant mortality. In contrast, female literacy rate (inversely), household income (directly) and per capita GMP (inversely) were independently associated with the infant mortality rate (for the model including the three variables R2 = 25.2). Finally, we considered simultaneously the variables from each group, and selected a model that explained 41% of the variation in infant mortality rates between municipalities. The paradoxical direct association between household income and infant mortality was present only in models including female illiteracy rate, and suggests that among these municipalities, increases in income unaccompanied by improvements in female education may not substantially reduce infant mortality. The lack of independent associations between inadequate sanitation and infant mortality rates may be due to the uniformly poor level of this indicator across municipalities and provides no evidence against its critical role in child survival. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and increased prenatal care utilization, as well as investments in female education would have substantial positive effects in further reducing infant mortality rates in the State of Ceara. (+info)
Fin-de-siecle Philadelphia and the founding of the Medical Library Association.
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Philadelphia at the time of the founding of the Medical Library Association (MLA) is described. Several factors that promoted the birth of the association are discussed, including the rapid increase in the labor force and the rise of other health related professions, such as the American Hospital Association and the professionalization of nursing. The growth of the public hygiene movement in Philadelphia at the time of Sir William Osler's residency in the city is discussed. Finally, the rapid growth of the medical literature is considered a factor promoting the development of the association. This article continues the historical consideration of the MLA begun in the author's article on the three founders of the association. The background information is drawn from the items listed in the bibliography, and the conclusions are those of the author. (+info)
Seroprevalence of human cysticercosis in Maputo, Mozambique.
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We carried out a serosurvey for cysticercosis among people visiting the Central Hospital of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, between January and June 1993. A standardized questionnaire was designed to obtain information on demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral characteristics related to the transmission of the infection. Four hundred eighty-nine individuals were tested for anti-cysticercosis antibodies: 222 blood donors and patients from the Department of Orthopedics, 148 patients from the Department of Neurology, and 119 patients from the Department of Psychiatry. The overall positivity rate was 12.1% (59 of 489). Anti-cysticercus antibodies was detected in 14.9% of the blood donors and patients from the Department of Orthopedics, 11.5% of the patients from the Department of Neurology, and 7.6% of the patients from the Department of Psychiatry. Living in poor sanitary conditions seems to be an important factor related to human cysticercosis in Maputo, Mozambique. (+info)
Considerations regarding mass vaccination against typhoid fever as an adjunct to sanitation and public health measures: potential use in an epidemic in Tajikistan.
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We report on the ongoing epidemic of typhoid fever in Tajikistan that started in 1996. It has involved more than 24,000 cases to date, and is characterized by multiple point sources, overflow of sewage, contaminated municipal water, and person-to-person spread. Of the Salmonella typhi isolates available for testing in western laboratories, more than 90% are multidrug-resistant (MDR). Most recently, 28 (82%) of 34 isolates are resistant to ciprofloxacin, representing the first reported epidemic of quinolone-resistant typhoid fever. In the past, mass immunization during typhoid fever epidemics has been discouraged. A review of this policy is recommended in light of the alarming emergence of quinolone-resistant strains of S. typhi, the availability of improved vaccines, and the ongoing epidemic in Tajikistan. Mass immunization may be a useful measure for the control of prolonged MDR typhoid fever epidemics, as an adjunct to correction of municipal infrastructure and public health intervention. (+info)
Hepatitis A incidence rate estimates from a pilot seroprevalence survey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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BACKGROUND: To assess the impact of water sanitation and sewage disposal, part of a major environmental control programme in Rio de Janeiro, we carried out sero-prevalence studies for Hepatitis A virus (HAV) in three micro-regions in Rio de Janeiro. Each region varied with regard to level of sanitation. We are interested in assessing the discriminating power of age-specific prevalence curves for HAV as a proxy for improvement in sanitation. These curves will serve as baseline information to future planned surveys as the sanitation programme progresses. METHODS: Incidence rate curves from prevalence data are estimated parametrically via a Weibull-like survival function, and non-parametrically via maximum likelihood and monotonic splines. Sera collected from children and adults in the three areas are used to detect antibodies against HAV through ELISA. RESULTS: We compare baseline incidence curves at the three sites estimated by the three methods. We observe a strong negative correlation between level of sanitation and incidence rates for HAV infection. Incidence estimates yielded by the parametric and non-parametric approaches tend to agree at early ages in the microregion showing the best level of sanitation and to increasingly disagree in the other two. CONCLUSION: Our results support the choice of HAV as a sentinel disease that is associated with level of sanitation. We also introduce monotonic splines as a novel non-parametric approach to estimate incidence from prevalence data. This approach outperforms current estimating procedures. (+info)
The impact of economic sanctions on health and human rights in Haiti, 1991-1994.
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OBJECTIVES: This report examines the impact of an economic embargo from 1991 to 1994 on health, well-being, and human rights in Haiti. METHODS: Data from surveillance systems for nutrition, reportable diseases, and hospital diagnoses were combined with survey data and interviews with affected women, governmental representatives, diplomats, and staff of nongovernmental organizations. RESULTS: Changes included declining income, rising unemployment, poorer nutrition, declining infant mortality, rising mortality among 1- to 4-year-olds, decreased attention to children's well-being and education, and family breakdown. Survival strategies among poor Haitians included changed dietary habits, informal-sector economic activity, moving in with relatives, selling domestic goods, increased informal unions among couples, decreased school attendance, and indentured servitude among children. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of economic sanctions in Haiti resulted in extensive violations of rights; the impact was greatest on the most disadvantaged Haitians. Many Haitian and international supporters of democracy were unaware of the extensive negative impact that sanctions could have. The impact continues now, 5 years after sanctions ended. Modified policies reduced some of the burden of sanctions, and international assistance prevented what otherwise might have become a humanitarian disaster during sanctions. (+info)