Preventing Diarrheal Disease in Developing Countries: Interventions to Reduce Diarrheal Disease
The health consequences of inadequate water and sanitation services include an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 1.9 million deaths each year, mostly among young children in developing countries. Diarrheal diseases lead to decreased food intake and nutrient absorption, malnutrition, reduced resistance to infection, and impaired physical growth and cognitive development. Water and sanitation interventions to reduce diarrheal disease incidence in developing countries fall into four general categories: water provision, household water treatment, handwashing promotion, and sanitation. Each of these interventions is proven to reduce diarrheal disease incidence. Organizations are often faced with the difficult decision of where to focus limited resources in order to improve water and sanitation conditions. Selecting the most appropriate intervention for a specific location depends on existing water and sanitation conditions, cultural acceptability, hydrology and water quality, implementation feasibility, and local conditions.
Improved Well in Haiti (D. Lantagne)
Table of Contents
- Preventing Diarrheal Disease in Developing Countries: Interventions to Reduce Diarrheal Disease
- Sanitation
Water Provision
Currently, 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe water supplies. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target is to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water,” as measured by access to an improved supply. The world is on schedule to meet the MDG target; however, success will leave over 600 million people without access to improved water supplies in 2015 and the target does not address safety of the water. Improved supplies include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes and protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater collection. Understanding local hydrological conditions is key to selecting the appropriate improved water supply. Water from improved supplies can be treated at the community level to ensure it is safe to drink.
Household Water Treatment
Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) interventions are proven to improve water quality and reduce diarrheal disease incidence in developing countries. Five HWTS options – chlorination, solar disinfection, ceramic and slow sand filters, and PUR – are proven to be effective at treating untreated unimproved and improved water supplies to improve the microbiological safety of the water during transport and storage. Successful HWTS programs select a high-quality, culturally appropriate option, distribute the products reliably, and work with trusted local community educators to encourage healthy water practices. http://www.who.int/household_water.
A Woman Using HWTS (P. Vidot)
Hand Washing Promotion
Handwashing with soap is critical to reduce transmission of many infectious diseases. Successful handwashing promotion programs focus on establishing a reliable soap supply in the community or region; teaching people to wash hands correctly at critical times through demonstration; and motivational activities. Critical handwashing times include before eating and cooking, after using the toilet, and after changing a baby. Handwashing education can be included in all health programming and curricula.
Washing Hands with Soap (A. Parker)
Sanitation
Currently, 2.4 billion people worldwide lack access to improved sanitation. The Millennium Development Goal target is to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe sanitation”, as measured by access to an improved sanitation facility. Improved sanitation facilities include public sewer connections, septic system connections, pour-flush latrines, pit latrines, and ventilated pit latrines. Many organizations now focus on step-wise sanitation improvements, working with communities to move from open defecation and poor hygiene toward total sanitation. Successful programs focus on educating communities to use local resources and knowledge to cost-effectively improve sanitation throughout the community.
Latrine (D. Lantagne)
Resources
The issues in this article are addressed on the USAID Environmental Health web pages. For more topics relating to environmental health, visit the web site at: http://www.ehproject.org
Related Pages
Household Water Treatment Options in Developing Countries Fact Sheets
- Ceramic Filtration
- Flocculant/Disinfectant Powder
- Household Chlorination
- Safe Water System
- Solar Disinfection (SODIS)
- Proven Household Water Treatment Options
- Interventions to ReduceDiarrheal Disease
Preventing Diarrhea in Developing Countries - Country Fact Sheets
- The CDC/PSI Project in Kenya
- The Jolivert Safe Water for Families Project in Rural Haiti
- The CDC/PSI Program in Zambia
Household Water Treatment Articles
- Boiling: Household Water Treatment Options in Developing Countries.
- Filtration & Chlorination Systems: Household Water Treatment Options in Developing Countries.
- Preventing Diarrheal Disease in Developing Countries
- Simple Options to Remove Turbidity
- Safe Storage of Drinking Water
Household Water Treatment Technical Reports
- Working with local health care staff to increase SWS uptake
- Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene in Kenyan Schools
- Effect of Chlorination on Inactivating Selected Pathogens
- Chlorine Residual Testing
- Preventing Diarrhea in Persons Living with HIV and AIDS
Household Water Treatment Manuals
Safe Water for the Community: A Guide for Establishing a Community-Based Safe Water System Program
Household Water Treatment
