Sanitization News and Research

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U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passes Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act

"In an exciting move for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) community, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2011 (S 641), bringing the bill one step closer to becoming a law," PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog reports.

22 Jun 2012

Unwelcome hotel ‘guests’ uncovered

An investigation into the cleanliness of various surfaces and objects in hotel rooms in three US states has revealed that 81% of surfaces are contaminated with coliform bacteria.

20 Jun 2012

Despite decline in cholera cases in Haiti, health authorities not doing enough, aid group says

"Global and local health authorities are not doing enough to fight a cholera outbreak that continues to claim lives in Haiti, Doctors Without Borders said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports (6/15).

19 Jun 2012

Yemen facing extremely high levels of malnutrition, UNICEF official says

With "the highest level of chronic malnutrition after Afghanistan, affecting 60 percent of under fives," Yemen is facing levels of acute malnutrition that are equal to or worse than those in Africa's Horn or Sahel, UNICEF's Yemen representative Geert Cappelaere said on Friday in London, AlertNet reports.

18 Jun 2012

First study to look at hotel room cleanliness

An experiment of surfaces in hotel rooms finds television remotes to be among the most heavily contaminated with bacteria and items on housekeeping carts carry the potential to cross-contaminate rooms. Researchers from the University of Houston report the findings today at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

18 Jun 2012

Opinion pieces address Child Survival Call to Action

The governments of the United States, India, and Ethiopia, in collaboration with UNICEF, on Thursday launched the Child Survival Call to Action in Washington, D.C., during a two-day event that brings together world leaders, public health experts, child health advocates and others in an effort to reduce child mortality to 20 per 1,000 by 2035 worldwide, with the ultimate goal of ending preventable child deaths.

16 Jun 2012

Millions suffer chronic food shortages in North Korea, U.N. report says

"Millions of North Koreans suffer chronic food shortages and dire health care ..., and there are no immediate signs of reforms to spur economic growth, the United Nations says" in a report released Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports.

13 Jun 2012

Pneumonia and diarrhoea remain biggest killers of East Asia-Pacific children

A new report from UNICEF has highlighted the huge child survival gap between the richest and the poorest children by focusing on pneumonia and diarrhoea – the two primary killers of children under the age of five.

8 Jun 2012

USAID warns humanitarian crisis in Yemen being 'overlooked,' pledges additional $6.5M in aid

"The U.S. government aid agency on Tuesday warned that a humanitarian crisis in conflict-ridden Yemen was being 'overlooked' despite escalating to levels seen in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel," Agence France-Presse reports.

7 Jun 2012

Better urban planning is key to improving health of 60% of global population that will be living in cities by 2030

The proportion of the world’s population that lives in cities has been steadily rising, so that 3 in 5 of all people globally will live in a city by 2030. The UCL (University College London)/Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities explores the many issues other than health services that contribute to population health in a city environment.

30 May 2012

Widespread cholera vaccination needed in Haiti while improvements made to water, sanitation systems

"As the world's worst outbreak of cholera continues to ravage Haiti, international donors have averted their gaze," a Washington Post editorial writes. The editorial notes that a "pilot project to vaccinate Haitians against the disease ... reached only one percent of the population, with no immediate prospect of expansion," and "of the 100 or so cholera treatment centers that sprang up around the country after the disease was detected 19 months ago, fewer than a third remain."

30 May 2012

Rwanda accelerates fight against rotavirus

Rwanda today accelerated its fight against rotavirus, the primary cause of deadly diarrhea in young children, when it became the fourth African country to introduce new rotavirus vaccines only recently made available to developing countries. Rotavirus is the primary cause of diarrhea in children. In Rwanda, diarrhea accounts for approximately 23% of child deaths.

28 May 2012

U.N. official calls for more leadership, funding, comprehensive plan to address potential humanitarian crisis in Sahel

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos on Thursday "called for strong leadership and a comprehensive response plan, as well as donor support, for the food crisis in West Africa's drought-prone Sahel region, warning that hunger could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe," the U.N. News Centre reports (5/24).

25 May 2012

Insurance refunds in Arizona; Mass. House passes dementia care standards

Arizona consumers and businesses can expect to collect more than $36 million in refunds this summer from health-insurance companies under new provisions of the nation's health care law, according to two reports.

25 May 2012

Scientific American examines global progress toward clean drinking water, sanitation goals

"U.N. Development Goals for better drinking water have already been reached, but a closer look shows that the measures fail to truly account for the lack of access to safe water," Scientific American reports in a feature story.

24 May 2012

'Atlanta Declaration' addresses how U.S. can advance world's health

The World Affairs Council of Atlanta, CARE USA, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) last week held a conference "on how the United States, even in the midst of fiscal austerity and political division, can best advance the world's health," CSIS' "Smart Global Health" blog reports.

22 May 2012

The Millennium Village Project: a correction

Paul Pronyk, lead author of the Millennium Village paper, releases the following statement about the paper, Pronyk PM, Muniz M, Nemser B, et al, for the Millennium Villages Study Group. The effect of an integrated multisector model for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and improving child survival in rural sub-Saharan Africa: a non-randomised controlled assessment. Lancet 2012; published online May 8. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60207-4.

18 May 2012

icddr,b, AmeriCares launch new cholera-fighting program in the Horn of Africa

AmeriCares and icddr,b have launched a new cholera-fighting program in the Horn of Africa, where recent rains have increased fears of large-scale outbreaks.

18 May 2012

To maintain growth, Africa needs to improve food security, UNDP report says

"Africa needs to boost agricultural productivity and address the debilitating hunger that affects 27 percent of its population if it is to sustain its economic boom, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said in a report on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

16 May 2012

U.N., international community should pledge to improve water, sanitation in Haiti to mitigate cholera epidemic

"The cholera epidemic in Haiti, which began in late 2010, is bad and getting worse, for reasons that are well understood and that the aid community has done far too little to resolve," a New York Times editorial states, adding that the "Pan American Health Organization has said the disease could strike 200,000 to 250,000 people this year" and "has already killed more than 7,000."

15 May 2012