Health Care for Sustainable Community: March 2008 Archives

Greater measures to improve sanitation and hygiene facilities in international development projects as well as emergency aid are needed. I've even noted that hygiene education is declining in the US...and community hygiene facilities are poorly maintained, sparce, and hard to access by people needing services in public places.

“This isn’t a popular subject,” explains Martin Wolff, Welthungerhilfe’s Programme Manager for Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, “but installing latrines and raising hygiene awareness are essential if people’s health is to improve in developing countries.”

In its project countries, Welthungerhilfe makes sure that those who benefit from water installations and sanitary facilities are also those who maintain, repair and administer the amenities.

Hygiene includes restrooms, washing hands, bathing, menstrual hygiene, sick care, changing diapers, nose blowing, indigestion problems...and the list goes on.

Our mothers probably did a good job on us, telling us to "Clean up after yourself," but modern gated communities and buildings, members-only facilities, vandalism and stranger-danger that come with urban living have made that difficult for individuals, companies and organizations that want to be good neighbors -- but feel the brunt of public behavior abuses and neglect

The shamefully weak presence of the health sector in advocating for improved access to water and sanitation is incomprehensible and completely short-sighted. Children who benefit from the huge international effort and financial and human resources spent on immunisation and bednet distribution still have a strong chance of dying from diarrhoeal illnesses—the second biggest killer of children under 5 years.

Hygiene is serious business.  As important to sustainable communities as climate change and energy shortages.

RESOURCE: http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com