health

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Focusing on Sanitation in Rural Senegal and Africa’s Commitment to Safely Managed Sanitation

In 2015, Africa adopted the Ngor Declaration on Sanitation and Hygiene. The Ngor Declaration outlines 10 commitments to achieve universal access to adequate and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services and eliminate open defecation by 2030.  

The vision of the Ngor Declaration closely aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. The accurate monitoring of the implementation of Ngor commitments on sanitation and hygiene is critical for Africa to assess their progress. 

Report

Social Science in Epidemics: Cholera Lessons Learned

This report is the first installment of the ‘Social Science in Epidemics’ series, commissioned by the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Direct Assistance (OFDA). In this series, past outbreaks are reviewed in order to identify social science ‘entry points’ for emergency interventions and preparedness activities. The aim is to determine tangible ways to address the social, political and economic dynamics of epidemics and to ensure that interventions build on the social and cultural resources of the communities they aim to support.

Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet: USAID/Mali CARE Nutrition and Hygiene Project

USAID/Mali’s CARE Nutrition and Hygiene Project integrates nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and agriculture interventions with the overall goal to improve the nutritional status of women and children; with a special emphasis on building resilience through the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.

The project runs from October 2013–September 2019.

Blog

Podcast Features Two Thought Leaders on How Tackle the Global Sanitation Crisis

“I have seen that real change comes from the bottom up, from pressure from society—from good, willing people and action groups who actually put pressure on their governments to change,” says Rolf Luyendijk, executive director of the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, in the latest episode of USAID’s Global Waters Radio podcast series. “Linking up with these groups, I think, is critical to get politicians to prioritize investing in sanitation.”

Blog

Reflections on the University of North Carolina's (UNC) Annual Water and Health Conference

The UNC’s Water Institute annual policy-meets-science exchange has become the go-to domestic knowledge-sharing forum among water and sanitation development practitioners, funders, and academia. This year USAID participated in more than 15 presentations and side events on a wide array of topics, including designing sanitation enterprises, rural water supply, and examining research’s role in driving policy and promoting change.

Blog

Webinar Explores Barriers to Effective Sanitation Enterprises

The provision of sustainable sanitation for all is one of the world’s most important development priorities, yet 4.5 billion people lack access to a safe toilet. Past efforts to provide greater sanitation access, such as direct government provision and full, blanket subsidies for toilets, have proven to be ineffective or unsustainable in many developing countries, prompting some to focus on market-based sanitation (MBS) as an alternative. However, market-based approaches have proven difficult to scale up.  

Blog

Solutions for Pollution

SWP’s panel of experts discusses how best to address challenges of poor water quality.