Health

Focusing on hygiene, health and environmental sanitation

Drought and the overuse of groundwater for agriculture in Gujarat State in western India have depleted water resources and contaminated available water with fluoride and salinity. Villagers face a dire health situation, with no other sources of water, inadequate storage and distribution systems and little in the way of facilities to treat and protect water supplies. Locating, collecting and transporting small amounts of water especially places a heavy burden on women and girls. Previous attempts to address the issue have led to inappropriate and under-maintained facilities. Now the Gujarat Environmental Health Improvement Program is improving water availability and quality by involving the local community - particularly women and the poor - in the planning of water and sanitation management in the area. Education concerning personal hygiene and household sanitary practices has been provided, village sanitation has been improved, and water collection methods such as check dams and roof rainwater harvesting have been introduced.

Improving nursing services and availability

Communities in East Africa lack basic health services and training for health practitioners. The Advanced Nursing Studies Initiative improves the health status of communities in the region and contributes to health sector reform by enhancing the managerial and clinical practices of nurses working in urban and rural settings.