EDITORIAL

The month of July was an important month for us. The diarrhoea/cholera epidemic in Jajarkot and surrounding districts in Far Western Nepal was making headline news throughout the month and people were dying every day. In the meantime, ENPHO worked with several youth groups to launch an emergency campaign – Paschim Paaila – to send young volunteers to the epidemic affected areas to raise awareness on safe water sanitation and hygiene, distribute PIYUSH chlorine solution and oral rehydration salts, disinfect water sources and conduct research on the epidemic. The first volunteers were in the field within one week and within two weeks we had managed to send more than 60 volunteers, most of whom were public health students, to the field. Besides providing some emergency measures to control the epidemic, the experience was also an eye opener for many young students who got first hand knowledge on dealing with an epidemic. One of our volunteers have shared his experience in this newsletter.

The epidemic is not yet over and we have a long way to go to ensure that people do not die from diarrhoea. But every long journey starts with a small step. For us Paschim Paaila was this step in the right direction. Join us in this journey.

MID-WESTERN DIARRHOEA EPIDEMIC AND SOLUTION: THROUGH MY SIGHT

:: ENPHO NEWS ::

PASCHIM PAAILA: A STEP AGAINST THE EPIDEMIC IN MID AND FAR WESTERN NEPAL

In response to the diarrhoea/cholrea epidemic in mid and far western Nepal, which has claimed the lives of more than 300 people, ENPHO joined hands with youth groups to launch a campaign called “Paschim Paaila.” A first meeting held on 17 July decided to take immediate action by sending teams of trained youth with necessary supplies to raise awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene and improve people’s access to safe water and sanitation. Committees were formed and coordination with stakeholders started immediately. A training was held the next day and on 21 July a five-member Rapid Assessment Team (RAT) left for the field to assess the condition on the ground, coordinate with local stakeholders and prepare for the volunteers. On 23 July, the second team (36 volunteers consisting of intern doctors, public health students and ENPHO staff) left for Jajarkot and Rukum. We also organized a candle light vigil in the memory of the more than 200 people who had lost their lives because of the epidemic. On 29 July the third group (23 volunteers) left for Surkhet and Dailekh districts.

While the volunteers were in the field, volunteers in Kathmandu got together to organize chlorine making campaigns and also organized fund-raising drives to support the campaign. The first camp chlorine was organized on 28 July and the second one wsa organized on 31 July at Rotary Club. Volunteers helped produce more than 15,000 bottles of PIYUSH chlorine solution which would be distributed in the field.

RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROGRAM IN EASTERN NEPAL

ENPHO, with financial support of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Fund Development Board, is conducting 4 water supply and sanitation - Batch VII (Phase II) in Siraha and Saptari districts along with seven schemes in Jhapa and Morang districts of Eastern Nepal. The aim of this project is to improve drinking water supply facilities through centralize gravity flow system and improve sanitary conditions and public health status of the local people through local capacity building and involvement of women and the entire community in the process of improvement. ENPHO has established a field office in Damak, Jhapa and started preparatory works such as rapport building, surveys and capacity building.

COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION IN KAVRE

ENPHO in collaboration with ASIA-Onlus, the Association for International Solidarity in Asia- an Italian NGO and Social Welfare Council has initiated a Community Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project with Support of the Education of poor children through the Long Distance Sponsorship in Kavre district. The 5-year project will focus on Water Supply and Sanitation, Rain Water Harvesting, Health & Hygiene, Solid Waste Management, Indoor air pollution and Education. ENPHO has initiated preparatory works and established a field office in Dhulikhel.

WAPIC WORKSHOP IN NUWAKOT

A community level workshop on Water Pasteurization through Improved Cook Stove (WAPIC) was conducted on 23 July 2009 at Lamagaon village of Thansing VDC in Nuwakot district. The major objective of the workshop was to disseminate information about WAPIC to the users and villagers of Thansing and to interact with them. The workshop had 35 participants, most of whom were women and local teachers. Five WAPIC users and Mrs. Menuka Lama, a local stove promoter shared their experience of using the WAPIC.

SAFE WATER ZONE DECLARATION IN BUTWAL

On 25 July, Srijana Tole, a small community with 45 located in ward no. 10 of Butwal Municipality organized a formal programme to declare themselves as the first “Safe Water Zone” in Butwal. Safe water zone is a community where each and every household has been using at least one Household Water Treatment (HWT) options to ensure use of safe drinking water. Community people and active groups were trained and intensively mobilized to relay messages on safe water & HWT options and to declare their community as “Safe Water Zone” through the promotion of several HWT options such as boiling, filtration, chlorination and SODIS.

CANDLE MAKING IN DHULIKHEL

ENPHO assisted in organizing a three-day training on candle making was organized to local women of ward No. 1 to 9 of Dhulikhel Municipality. The main objective of the training was to develop the skill of the women on how to use the machine to produce the candle and develop the supply mechanism. The resource persons - Mr. Hari Gopal Shrestha and Ashok Byanju – divided the 20 participants into three groups where each groups were taught on how to register the local organization, find out the market value and different tips for increasing the market value without any conflict between the groups. Altogether 10 machines were handed to three groups to produce the candle.

WATSAN PROJECT AT CHAPAGAON MARKED WITH THE NEW BEGINNING

On 31st July 2009, Friday, a programme was organized at Bani Bilas School, Champapur by the Champapur Environmental Sanitation Improvement User’s Committee to announce the official closure of the project on Household Centered Environmental Sanitation (HCES) Improvement. It was also the beginning of the community taking full responsibility of the project without outside support. The two-year project was supported by Water Aid Nepal and ENPHO. Dr. Suman K. Shakya, Deputy Executive Director, ENPHO, officially handed the project to Mr. Badri Desar, President, Champapur Environmental Sanitation Improvement User’s Committee, who expressed gratitude on behalf of the entire community to Water Aid Nepal and ENPHO for initiating the project with the token of appreciation. Dr. Suman K. Shakya expressed gratitude on behalf of ENPHO for the support and coordination from the community.

The community will now use the knowledge it has gained so far to manage the project by itself while ENPHO will continue to monitor the progress.

BOARD MEMBER OF CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK SOUTH ASIA (CANSA)

Executive Director of ENPHO, Bhushan Tuladhar, was elected as a Board Member of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) during its General Assembly held in Kathmandu on 10 July 2009. Climate Action Network is a global network of 450 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. It has seven regional offices, including CANSA, which was established in 1991. Bhushan Tuladhar is also the coordinator of Climate Change Network Nepal, a network of organizations working on climate change related issues in Nepal.

TRAINING ON HOUSEHOLD WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM (HWTS) AND ARSENIC MITIGATION

ENPHO is providing technical assistance to Nepal Red Cross Society for implementing Arsenic Mitigation Programme supported by UN HABITAT, UNICEF and DWSS. In this context, ENPHO with NRCS trainers had organized 25 training programmes on HWTS and Arsenic Mitigation options at four out of nine programme districts (Banke, Bardiya, Rautahat, Bara) starting from May to June, 2009.

 

S.N.	Title of training	Number of trainings	Number of participants
1	Health workers training	4	57
2	Community motivators training	4	55
3	School teachers training	4	58
4	Community leaders and local volunteers training	4	55
5	District Technicians	4	102
6	Local Entrepreneurs Training	1	28
7	Local journalists training	4	68
	TOTAL:	25	423

These training programmes are also activities within ENPHO Water Expertise Training centre (WET Centre) supported by CAWST. Dr. Betman Bhandari, International Technical Advisor at CAWST, had provided technical support to ENPHO for organizing Local Entrepreneurs’ Training and local journalists’ trainings. More training will be organized at remaining programme districts in July and August.

PARTICIPATIONS/PRESENTATIONS

• Bipin Dangol, Programme Manager at ENPHO, visited Calagry, Canada on 15-20 June, 2009 to participate in “Summary Learning Exchange Programme” organized by CAWST. He made presentation on current WET Centre programme activities including plan and future activities. Many other participants made presentations on recent developments and research findings on Household Water Treatment System (HWTS) including potential initiations on HIV/AIDS and WATSAN interventions.
• Amresh P. Karmacharya , Deputy Executive Director at ENPHO participated in the workshop on “Estimation of Measurement Uncertainty in Routine Analysis” from 6th-10th July, 2009 organized by Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology, Kathmandu
• Rabin Bastola, National Coordinator of Resource Centre Network Nepal (RCNN) participated in ‘Training for Facilitation of National Learning Processes in the Water and Sanitation Sector’ held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 29 June – 10 July. The training focused on knowledge and skills development and analysis of the broader concepts of learning in the water and sanitation sector, capacity development, and knowledge management. The training program was organized by the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), The Netherlands. RCNN Secretariat has been hosted by ENPHO.
• Makhan Maharjan (Sr. Programme Manager, WQP) visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from 18-28 July 2009 for the review of Anti-Epidemic Stations (AESs) at county level in the current water and sanitation operational areas of the Red Cross Society of the DPRK (DPRK RC). Mr. Maharjan together with the DPRK RC and IFRC personnel conducted field visit at AESs in five counties and presented the findings in a ‘Wrap-up session’ attended by the DPRK RC WatSan, AEC staff and staff members from the Federation.
• Binod Mani Dahal, Sr. Program Manager participated in ‘Training on Water Quality Testing Method and Orientation on Water Safety Plan’ held in Baglung, Nepal from 24 – 26th July, 2009 organized by Nepal Red Cross Society as a Resource Person.
• Bhushan Tuladhar, Executive Director, made a presentation on Decentralized Energy Management in Nepal at a South Asia Regional Training on Climate Change organized by Climate Action Network South Asia.
• On 24 July, Bhushan Tuladhar made a presentation on Waste and Wastewater Management in Gokyo Lakes to officials at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
• On 25 July, Bhushan Tuladhar facilitated a discussion on indigenous cultural practices for management of natural resources and the screening of the movie “Biyul” at the Nepal Tourism Board.

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:: LOCAL NEWS ::

DRINKING WATER PROJECT INAUGURATED

Itahari: with the support from the World Bank, a drinking water project has been constructed at Punchayan of Bhklauri, the northern belt of Sunsari district. The project named Panchayan Drinking Water Project constructed targeting the residents of Panchayan, the remote part of the district was inaugurated yesterday. The project that has the tank of 36,000 liter capacity was constructed at the cost of Rs. 3.01 million provided by the World Bank. It is said that 1,100 people of 184 household will have been benefitted from the project constructed by the Community Support Association of Nepal (COSEN). While inaugurating the project, COSAN representative Gopal Prasad Pokhrel informed that country. The project said 40 public tabs have been set up for water supply and some private taps have several drinking water projects had been constructing by the COSAN in rural parts of the also been distributed in the village.
Source: The Rising Nepal, 5 July

SQUATTER WOMAN SELLS ORNAMENT TO CONSTRUCT TOILET

A squatter woman of Lamjung has constructed a toilet by selling her ornament. Jitmaya Magar of Bhoteodar VDC-8 invested her hard-earned money and sold her gold earrings and a goat to construct a concrete toilet at an investment of Rs. 10,000 [US$ 130]. She constructed the toilet after Bhoteodar VDC was declared an open defecation free zone on the occasion of 10th National Sanitation Action Week, which was held from 05-11 June 2009 with the slogan of ‘we are proud of having toilets in our homes’. Sanitation Week is being celebrated in Nepal since 1977. Experts are pushing to get the right to sanitation included in the new constitution. The government has set a national goal to provide sanitation to all by 2017 – which would require constructing 24,000 toilets every month – but there is a shortfall of at least Rs. 24 billion [US$ 311 million] to achieve this. Currently, about 45 per cent of the population has access to toilet facility and some 14.2 million Nepali people [out of total population of 29.5 million] defecate in the open.
Source: washasia.wordpress.com, 9 July

ADB TO HELP IMPROVE WATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN CENTERS OF 3 SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping select urban centers in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka improves water management to enhance economic opportunities and reduce waterborne diseases. The project is funded through an $850,000 grant from the Investment Climate Facilitation Fund established by the Government of Japan last year under the Regional Cooperation and Integration Financing Partnership Facility, which supports technical assistance projects. Intermittent water supplies are the norm in South Asian urban centers. There are no strategies to make water available 24 hours a day, which is one of the most important objectives in urban water management system. This has resulted in water contamination and wastage, unreliable metering, and burst pipes. Through the technical assistance, up to 30 urban centers in the three South Asian countries will acquire technology and expertise in managing the water sector. They will develop a better understanding of key policy parameters for water security and reduce risks and vulnerabilities caused by lack of understanding and knowledge of the water sector. To achieve these objectives, the technical assistance will determine geographical and population coverage of service areas in the chosen urban centers, assess if drinking water supply complies with acceptable quality standards, and if wastewater management affects the quality of groundwater, aquifers, and other water sources. The project will also determine the levels of non-revenue water, operational efficiencies, and operations management system of the select urban centers
Source: www.environmental-expert.com, 9 July

CONTAMINATED WATER LED TO OUTBREAK: HEALTH WORKERS

Health workers have blamed the consumption of contaminated water as the main reason behind the diarrheal outbreak in the district. Since there are not enough water taps in the far-flung villages, people have no option but to consume contaminated water from wells and streams. They have to travel for up to two hours to reach the wells and streams to fetch water.

“Chances of prevalence of bacteria in water from such sources are very high. This might have led to the outbreak in the district,” health personnel said. Though the government, water supply office and several non-government organizations are frequently constructing drinking water projects in rural villages, such projects are yet to become dependable sources of water for the locals. According to the locals, such projects become non-functional in a year or two.

“We have been deprived of potable water. Though some organizations have constructed taps in villages, they have gone dry,” Amar Khatri of Karkigaon said. According to the data of water supply office, taps are installed in all 30 VDCs under the aegis of Asian Development Bank. However, the presence of taps is limited only on paper. “Though there are some taps in every VDC, they have already gone dry,” said Surat Kumar Bam, chief, Drinking Water and Sanitation Office. Bam said most of the people dying from diarrhoea are from Dalit families. “Most of the Dalit families do not have toilets. They go near water sources to answer nature’s call,” Bam said, adding, “Long spell of drought this year also contributed to the outbreak.” He added that the outbreak could be contained if people started using boiled water and paid attention to personal hygiene and sanitation.
Source: The Himalayan Times, 12 July

GROUNDWATER DEPLETING IN VALLEY

A study has said that rapidly increasing urbanization has seriously impacted groundwater sources inside the valley. If the present rate of urbanization is unchecked, all the rechargeable areas inside the capital will be sealed off and groundwater cannot be recharged underground within the next 35 years, said the study. The study, ‘Groundwater extraction in the Kathmandu Valley and its potential impacts’, also says that rechargeable areas inside the valley are in dire state lacking proper management and monitoring. From 345,000 buildings in 2001, there are currently more than 500,000 buildings. According to Suresh Das Shrestha, hydro-geologist expert, groundwater level is decreasing at the rate of 2.5 m annually. Similarly, groundwater extraction inside the valley is three times more than the recharge level, he said.
Source: Kantipuronline.com, 10 July

MELAMCHI WORK BEGINS NEXT MONTH

After years of delay, construction of the tunnel that will bring 170 million litres of water per day to Kathmandu is set to begin in the first week of August. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will lay the foundation stone of the diversion tunnel on August 3. The much-anticipated project, which promises to end the drinking water woes of Kathmandu Valley is expected to be completed in September 2013. The key feature of the Rs. 17 billion Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) is the 26.5 kilometres long diversion tunnel.  Tunnel construction will start simultaneously from four different places. China Railway 15 Bureau Group Corporation has been awarded the contract to build the tunnel in 56 months.  Resettlement of those displaced by the project and compensation for land acquisition had caused the delay. “We have paid for this,” said Gajendra Kumar Thakur, executive director of Melamchi Water Supply Development Board on Friday. An 18-kilometre long access road from Melamchi Pul Bazaar to Timbu and ten bridges have been constructed till date to transport construction materials for the tunnel.

So far, Rs. 4.74 billion has been spent on the project. Political instability and social and political conflicts had halted development of the project, resulting in lack of interest among potential international bidders, who found the project too risky. The World Bank withdrew from the project in 2005 following the delays. After the royal takeover in 2005, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and Swedish Development Agency also withdrew their funding commitments. After this, the Asian Development Bank stepped in with a loan covering 80 percent of the project cost. Nepal government is funding the shortfall.
Source: http://nepalresearch.com/infrastructure, 11 July

ILAM WATER SOURCES DRYING UP

Rampant deforestation has taken its toll in Ilam district with drinking water sources starting to dry up at an alarming rate. Water sources in and around community forest areas have been running dry due to unchecked deforestation, according to district officials and locals.  Deforestation has led to change in rainfall pattern in some areas in the district. Villagers say they are not receiving adequate rainfall and the earth has lost its water storage capacity.  In the recent times, major trees contributing to timely rainfall such as Uttish, Matalo and Chilaune are being destroyed at a shocking rate for timber, said Sushil Nembang, former chairman of Federation of Community Forest Users. The problem is not of drinking water. “Deforestation has not only dried up water sources, but also threats of soil erosion, landslide and natural disaster are looming,” he said.   On the other hand, the Forest Office, Ilam, says some locals, who are responsible for preserving forests, are felling on trees being lured by money. According to District Forest Officer Surendra Lal Karna, efforts have been made to discourage deforestation, but they have not yielded any result.  Looking at the current rate of deforestation, streams and tributaries will also start to dry up, district-based conservationists say.
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 12 July

NEW PROJECT TO SAVE THE BAGMATI

It stinks, it's dirty and many of Kathmandu's denizens have given up hope that Kathmandu's holy river, the Bagmati, can ever be salvaged. But two organizations want to give it a shot all the same. The High-Powered Committee for the Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilization (HPCIDBC), the government body that looks after the Bagmati and its tributaries, in association with the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), is jointly launching an ambitious five-year action plan to save the river. "We have formulated an action plan to substantially reduce the pollution in the river and its tributaries--the 57 other rivers and rivulets--including the Bishnumati, the Dhobi Khola, the Hanumante, the Manahara and the Kotku," says Anil Bhadra Khanal, member secretary and project chief at the HPCIDBC.

As part of the 'Bagmati action plan', seven different waste treatment plants will be set up at different rivers and the plants will treat urban and industrial run-offs before it is diverted into the river, according to Dr Siddhartah Bajracharya, executive officer at NTNC. Currently, untreated sludge and solid waste from the slums along the Bagmati's banks and industrial effluents from various areas are dumped into the river, without first getting treated. "There is a misconception among people that urban waste is solely responsible for the deterioration of the river," says Bajracharya. He says that the increasing settlements on the river's bank and the excessive withdrawal of underground water are equally responsible for decreasing the quality of the river's water.

Some experts, however, think that the government is wasting too much of its resources on the river.  Tourism entrepreneur and environmentalist Bharat Basnet is deeply skeptical that the project will be implemented effectively. "There is no point in spending such a huge amount of money on the river," Basnet says. "Instead, the government should think of other ways to make the people who live along the river banks migrate to other places. Or the government and the private sector should work together and share the financial burden. The funds that will go into the project could be used elsewhere," says Basnet, adding that a huge chunk of cash has already been spent on Bagmati clean-up programmes that could not bring about positive results. Basnet's lashing out at past projects that failed to deliver is kind of warranted. According to NTNC, there are 31 key organizations working on Bagamati clean-up campaigns.

And another environmental expert, Bhushan Tuladhar, too has his doubts. Tuladhar thinks that the implementation of the ambitious plan will not be possible unless the commitments made are translated into action. "It's a welcome move that the government has allocated budget for the Bagmati's revival, but there is still a long way to go," says Tuladhar.
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 18 July

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:: GLOBAL NEWS ::

NEW HOUSING TO REUSE WATER

Future housing projects in Mumbai would need to have grey water recycling plants to treat wastewater from kitchen, washing clothes and bathing. The treated water is to be used for horticulture and other non-drinking purposes. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai drafted guidelines that would mandate developers to install such recycling plants in housing projects with over 1,858 sq metres built-up area.

“The guidelines will be incorporated in the building bye-laws once it gets approved by the corporation’s apex policy making body,” an official said. The Corporation officials said 40-50 per cent of the wastewater discharged by households is grey water and 80 per cent can be reused. “If housing colonies in Mumbai adopt this practice, there will be no shortage of drinking water in the city,” he said. As per the proposal, the builder will bear the cost of setting up such recycling plants.

Companies that offer such water treatment services said grey water collection in existing buildings is not feasible as sewage and grey water have common tanks. “Installing grey water recycling plants in new projects would not be costly,” said Arshad Moolji of Mumbai-based firm A M Ozonics. Grey water is made fit for reuse by first filtering it and then treating it with ozone to kill bacteria. This also removes odour and colour from wastewater. Moolji said the electricity consumed in operating a recycling plant is low—2 kilowatt per hour—and is offset by the water saved. Some housing colonies in Thane and Worli have such recycling plants.
Source: www.downtoearth.org.in, 1 July

GLOBAL: TWELVE COUNTRIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE HIT-LIST

The World Bank has made a list of the five main threats arising from climate change: droughts, floods, storms, rising sea levels, and greater uncertainty in agriculture. Four of the world's poorest nations top the list of the 12 countries at the highest risk.

Malawi, a low-income southern African country where most people live in rural areas and earn US$975 or less per year, is most susceptible to droughts, which are likely to become more frequent and intense. It has had two serious droughts in the past 20 years and a prolonged dry spell in 2004.

Bangladesh heads the list of countries most at risk of flooding. Increasing glacial melt from the Himalayan ranges as a result of rising global temperatures is set to swell the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and their hundreds of tributaries, flooding 30-70 percent of the country each year as the water makes its way to the Bay of Bengal in the south, where the coast is also vulnerable to flooding from rising sea levels.

Vietnam is most threatened by rising sea levels: up to 16 percent of its area, 35 percent of its people, and 35 percent of its gross domestic product could be hard hit if the sea level rises by five metres, according to another World Bank study.

Most of Sudan, Africa's largest country, is arid land or desert, and most at risk of food deficits resulting from the impact of climate change on agriculture. It lies in the Sahel, a region described as the most vulnerable in the world to droughts by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), an international scientific body.

The Philippines, a middle-income country in Southeast Asia consisting of over 7,000 islands, leads the list of nations most in danger of facing frequent and more intense storms. In 2008 it was one of three countries hit by the most disasters, according to the Geneva-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.
Source: IRIN News, 8 July

CAMBODIA: “FLOATING TOILETS” OFFER HOPE FOR RIVER COMMUNITIES

PHNOM PENH, 10 July 2009 (IRIN) – A toilet now in the development stage could improve the health of thousands living in Cambodia’s impoverished river communities.
River communities’ homes are typically built on floating platforms and moved seasonally, and rarely have proper latrines. Occupants use the river – the same water they use for drinking, cooking and washing. The health risks are high: according to Resource Development International–Cambodia, a faith-based NGO, 74 percent of all deaths are due to waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea. Cambodia has one of the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports. Many rural Cambodians see latrines as filthy, preferring open defecation as being more natural. “It’s not a poverty issue. Some wealthy people in the countryside don’t have good sanitation, and some poor families do have it,” Chea Samnan, director of rural healthcare for the Ministry of Rural Development, said. “It’s an issue of access to the right information.” As part of its “River of Life” project, Lien Aid, a Singaporean-based NGO, is working on what it describes as a “floating toilet”. The toilets – built on floating platforms and attached to homes – will effectively prevent faeces from entering the water. “We are still in the preliminary stages of testing out the prototypes,” Sahari Ani, Lien Aid’s head, told IRIN.
Source: www.sanitationupdates.wordpress.com, 12 July

INDIA – 72 PER CENT IN RURAL KARNATAKA HAVE NO ACCESS TO TOILETS

Bangalore, Jul 20 (PTI) As many as 72 per cent of people in rural Karnataka still resort to open defecation, around 63 per cent do not treat their water before drinking and majority of women do not have access to modern hygienic form of sanitary protection are some of the findings of a recent survey conducted by an NGO. ‘Ashwas’, a survey on ‘Household Water And Sanitation’, by the NGO Arghyam, released by state Governor H R Bharadwaj today revealed that 72 per cent people had no access to toilets. While 21 per cent had toilets outside the house, only seven per cent had toilets inside, it said. Covering 17,200 households in 810 villages in 28 districts across the state, the survey was conducted between December 2008 and January 2009. It said only five per cent of women used sanitary napkin.
Source: www.nabuur.com, 20 July

NEW ZEALAND – AWARD WINNING TOILET MADE FROM HORSE DUNG!

Could horse poo help save the planet?
An industrial designer has come up with the idea of a waterless toilet actually made of horse dung, which she believes could be a big help to the 40% of the world’s population that does not have access to proper toilets. Virginia Gardiner’s loo design is comprised of 90% horse dung. The toilet effectively becomes a storage device for human waste. The full loo can then be sealed and be taken to outdoor biogestors where the complete package is converted into biofuel for cooking. London-based Gardiner, a contributor to Dwell magazine, believes human poo has the potential to be a valuable commodity – a country mile away from the flush-and-forget attitude of many in the Western world. Gardiner’s invention has the potential to reduce illness and death among those without access to proper toilets. The idea has already received recognition. It was a finalist in the Buckminster Fuller Challenge and was acknowledged at the AIGA Aspen Design Challenge.
Source: sanitationupdates.wordpress.com, 1 July

NEW BLUE LIGHT NANOCRYSTALS COULD HELP MITIGATE GLOBAL WARMING

Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic magnesium oxide nanocrystals that efficiently emit blue light and could also play a role in long-term storage of carbon dioxide, a potential means of tempering the effects of global warming. In its bulk form, magnesium oxide is a cheap, white mineral used in applications ranging from insulating cables and crucibles to preventing sweaty-palmed rock climbers from losing their grip.  Using an organometallic chemical synthesis route, scientists at the Molecular Foundry have created nanocrystals of magnesium oxide whose size can be adjusted within just a few nanometers. And unlike their bulk counterpart, the nanocrystals glow blue when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com/releases, 22 July

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:: DIARRHOEA PRECUTION TIPS ::

Step 1:  

Wash your hands. Hands should always be washed with soap and water or ash and water after defecating, after cleaning a baby’s bottom, and before feeding children, handling food or eating.

Step 2: 

Keep children clean. Children frequently put their hands in their mouths, so it is important to keep the household area clean and to wash children’s hands often with water and soap or ash, especially before giving them food.

Step 3:

Prepare food with care. Food should be prepared and thoroughly cooked just before eating. Food left standing can collect germs that can cause diarrhoea. After two hours, cooked foods are not safe unless they are kept very hot or very cold.

Step 4:

Dispose of all refuse in a sanitary way. All refuse should be buried, burned or safely disposed of to stop flies from spreading disease.
Source: The Himalayan Times, 12 July

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Edited by: Bhushan Tuladhar & Rabin Shrestha

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