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What's New?

September 2001










 

Recruiting Project Director for EHP

EHP�s Project Director, Dr. Massee Bateman, will be joining USAID/India as a Child Survival Adviser in January 2002.  EHP is currently recruiting a replacement for Dr. Bateman.  All inquiries should be sent directly to J. Ellis Turner, Sr. Vice President, CDM International Inc., at the address indicated in the complete job description.  CDM is the prime contractor on the EHP contract.  The closing date for the recruitment is October 31, 2001.

The complete job description for the position is available at: http://www.ehproject.org/live/EhpPrjDri.htm


Lessons Learned from Community Management of Environmental Health in Benin

Community Management of Environmental Health, also known as GESCOME II (Gestion Communautaire de la Sant� Environnementale), is a multiyear activity implemented by EHP in Benin. GESCOME II is a scale-up of an earlier project GESCOME I�a pilot community-based activity to prevent diarrhea disease in children under 5. GESCOME I was operational from 1997 to 1999. GESCOME II began operations in September 1999 and will be completed at the end of September 2001.

GESCOME II continued the focus on diarrhea disease prevention initiated by GESCOME I, while expanding to include gender awareness, community and social mobilization, participatory information, education and communication, and reinforcing ties between municipal authorities and the community related to diarrheal disease transmission and prevention.

An activity to document lessons learned from the design, implementation and accomplishments of GESCOME II and GESCOME I is scheduled to begin in late October.  The document, titled: �Governance, Community Mobilization, and Environmental Health Outcomes�Lessons Learned in Benin,� will be prepared by a combination of international and Beninese experts. The documentation activity is tentatively scheduled to be completed by early December.

For information on the lessons-learned documentation activity, please contact Eckhard Kleinau ([email protected])

Sustainable Sanitation Services in Small Towns in LAC

A number of USAID missions in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have been supporting municipalities in the area of water supply and sanitation (WS&S)�many through municipal strengthening and environment programs. In general, USAID efforts have focused more on drinking-water supply than on sanitation.

EHP is currently implementing an activity focused on sanitation improvement in small towns. Small towns in LAC typically have populations between 5,000 and 30,000. Small towns typically are not in a position technically, financially, or institutionally to provide sanitation services effectively. The EHP activity examines these issues and proposes a strategy for sustainable sanitation services in small towns.

Two primary outcomes are envisioned from the activity: (1) a strategic paper that provides an overview of the issues involved in improving sanitation in small towns and that identifies a strategy that can be used in the planning of sustainable sanitation services and (2) a step-by-step methodology that a local consultant team can use to develop the sanitation plan. Ultimately, the goal is to implement a sanitation plan that is financially sustainable, protects the environment, maximizes health benefits and is equitable.

EHP will field-test the methodology in the fall of 2001 in Ecuador and in two countries to be identified in Central America and the Caribbean. Documents will be finalized after the field tests are completed. 

For information on the activity, please contact Fred Rosensweig ([email protected])

improved Hygiene in Kinshasa Markets, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The USAID Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (USAID/DRCongo) has been implementing the Urban Environmental Health Strategy.  Developed by EHP in collaboration with the Regional Urban Development Office (RUDO/Africa), the strategy focuses on diarrheal disease prevention.

Short-term strategy interventions include the implementation of three urban environmental health pilot projects.  One pilot project related to market sanitation was recently completed by Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim ACF-USA) and local authorities, with technical assistance from EHP and the University of Kinshasa School of Public Health. The objective of the pilot project was to improve sanitary conditions in public markets in Kinshasa.

Under the pilot project, new �sanitation units� have been constructed in seven Kinshasa markets. These units include toilets, showers, water points for washing hands, water storage tanks, septic tanks, and the ability to collect rainwater for use in the units. In addition, 11 drinking water points have been established in locations where water was not previously available to the market vendors, restaurateurs, and customers.  These new facilities are under the management of nongovernmental organizations and private businesses, and income generated through operation and use of the sanitation facilities will be used to ensure their sustainability and maintenance. Furthermore, hygiene education teams have been trained to provide education to the market community on food and on individual, domestic, and market hygiene. These trained specialists can be seen daily in the markets, speaking with vendors, customers, and restaurant owners and workers.

For information on the activity, please contact Chris McGahey ([email protected]) at EHP.

URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN PERU

USAID/Peru�s Urban Environmental Health and Behavior Change activity aims to reduce environmental health risks associated with exposure to locally generated contaminants and pathogens in periurban residential neighborhoods and communities. The activity�s purpose will be achieved through four interventions: (1) policy improvement assistance, (2) site-based pilot projects to demonstrate innovative approaches in environmental health, (3) training and local institutional strengthening and (4) development of community-based environmental health risk monitoring capacity.

USAID/Peru�s primary counterpart for the activity is DIGESA, the Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health.  During the past year, EHP worked with DIGESA in project planning and in a variety of activities related to childhood lead poisoning. Under the Urban Environmental Health and Behavior Change activity, EHP will provide a wide range of technical assistance and procurement support to DIGESA and to implementing private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and local authorities. Within this context, EHP�s first role has been the design and delivery of a start-up workshop that seeks to ensure that all actors and stakeholders involved have a clear understanding of the activity and their respective roles.

The start-up workshop was held in Lima, Peru, the week of September 10. The workshop was attended by a USAID/Washington representative as well as a three-member EHP team, which included the EHP Director. Approximately 40 participants attended the workshop, including key staff from the implementing partners�DIGESA, USAID/Peru, CARE�and representatives from key stakeholders, such as the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pan American Health Organization, SEDAPAL (the national water supply and sanitation agency), and CONAM (the national environmental protection agency).

For information on the Peru activity and the workshop, please contact Eddy Perez ([email protected]).  

MINI-PORTAL ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

A mini-portal on environmental health has been established on the Information Services page to provide access to more environmental health information resources.

In addition to the usual categories on our Information Services page, new categories of information resources include Bibliographic Databases, Development News Sources, Commercial News Sources, Reference Resources, and Statistical Resources.

The address for the mini-portal is http://www.ehproject.org/live/Infoser.html.

What's New on Other Pages

A. Links to Malaria Bulletins

Previous Issues of "What's New?"

The main topics or countries discussed are given in parentheses.

August 2001 (India, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, BBIN Network, information exchange network)
June 2001
(Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal, Dominican Republic, indoor air pollution consultation, Nairobi SIMA Conference)
May 2001 (Central America handwashing initiative, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Nepal, Bolivia)
March 2001 (Nicaragua, Madagascar, Africa, DDT cost comparison)
January 2001 at EHP (EHP Activities, E-Newsletter, National Malaria Control Programs in 4 African Countries, Congo, Decentralization in Latin America, Peru, WSSCC Forum, Global WS&S Assessment from WHO/UNICEF)
November 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, SANICONN)
September 2000 at EHP (Nepal/Regional, EHP and E-conferences)
July 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, Malaria Vaccine Development, "Water for the World")
May/June 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, International Consultation on Indoor Air Pollution)
April 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, Madagascar, Mozambique)
March 2000 at EHP (Benin, South Africa, Eritrea, Madagascar)
February 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, Paraguay, Ukraine, Mozambique and Eritrea)
January 2000 at EHP (Nicaragua, EHP Lessons Learned)

Previous Issues of "What's New?" by Country

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EHP is sponsored by the Office of Health and Nutrition in the Center for Population, Health and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research of the U.S. Agency for International Development
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Last modified October 09, 2001