Resources

Resource library

Resources are listed below chronologically but are also searchable through using the keyword search and the filters in the sidebar, by Topic, Country, Date, Language and Type.

 

Changes in open defecation in rural north India: 2014 – 2018

This paper reports on two surveys in rural north India. The first survey visited rural Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in late 2018. It collected data on 9,812 people and interviewed 156 local government officials. The second survey, in Udaipur district, visited 505 households in 19 villages and 60 households in two census towns.
This new research sheds light on what the SBM did and on changes in open defecation since 2014. It is informative about changes because researchers revisited families who participated in a 2014 survey.

Date: 31 January 2019
Country: 
India

Impact of social capital, harassment of women and girls, and water and sanitation access on premature birth and low infant birth weight in India

Globally, preterm birth (PTB) and low infant birth weight (LBW) are leading causes of maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Inadequate water and sanitation access (WASH) are risk factors for PTB and LBW in low-income countries. Physical stress from carrying water and psychosocial stress from addressing sanitation needs in the open may be mechanisms underlying these associations. If so, then living in a community with strong social capital should be able to buffer the adverse effects of WASH on birth outcomes.

Date: 12 November 2018
Country: 
India

State of Hygiene in Southern Africa

Without good hygiene practices, such as toilet use, handwashing with soap, water treatment, food hygiene, and menstrual hygiene, the benefits of other poverty reduction strategies will be undermined, and human dignity will be compromised.

The State of Hygiene in Southern Africa study was commissioned to gather evidence regarding: the status of hygiene practice in the region; the enabling environment and institutional arrangements for the promotion of hygiene behavior change; and key policy and programme bottlenecks for the prioritisation of hygiene.

Date: 15 October 2018
Country: 
Madagascar,
Malawi,
Mozambique,
Namibia,
South Africa,
Zambia,
Zimbabwe

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association between Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Exposures and Cholera in Case–Control Studies

Case–control studies are conducted to identify cholera transmission routes, and Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) exposures can facilitate or interrupt cholera transmission. Up until now there had been no systematic analysis of the association between WASH exposures and cholera from case–control studies. Seeing this gap, researchers from Tufts University Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Medford, Massachusetts undertook a systematic review.

Date: 14 September 2018

Urban sanitation coverage and environmental fecal contamination: Links between the household and public environments of Accra, Ghana

Exposure to faecal contamination in public areas, especially in dense, urban environments, may significantly contribute to gastrointestinal infection risk. This study examined associations between sanitation and faecal contamination in public environments in four low-income neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana. Soil and open drain samples were tested for E. coli, adenovirus, and norovirus. Sanitation facilities in surveyed households were categorised by onsite faecal sludge containment (“contained” vs. “uncontained”) using previous Joint Monitoring Program infrastructure guidelines.

Date: 26 July 2018
Country: 
Ghana

Community-Level Sanitation Coverage More Strongly Associated with Child Growth and Household Drinking Water Quality than Access to a Private Toilet in Rural Mali

This article is an overview of a study that investigated the effect of community sanitation coverage versus individual household sanitation access on child health and drinking water quality. Using a census of 121 villages in rural Mali, the research team analysed the association of community latrine coverage (defined by a 200 meter radius surrounding a household) and individual household latrine ownership with child growth and household stored water quality.

Date: 11 July 2018
Country: 
Mali

Effect of a community-led sanitation intervention on child diarrhoea and child growth in rural Mali: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

This article provides a brief overview of the method and findings from a cluster-randomised trial that was conducted in 2011-2013 in Koulikoro, Mali, to assess a government implemented Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme’s effect on child health.

Date: 11 July 2018
Country: 
Mali

Effects of water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea and child growth in rural Kenya: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Poor nutrition and exposure to faecal contamination are associated with diarrhoea and growth faltering, both of which have long-term consequences for child health. This trial aimed to assess whether water, sanitation, handwashing, and nutrition interventions reduced diarrhoea or growth faltering.

Date: 26 February 2018
Country: 
Kenya

Toward a Hygienic Environment for Infants and Young Children: A Review of the Literature (WASHpals)

The USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) project conducted a review of the scientific and grey literature, complemented by dozens of key informant interviews with researchers and field implementers, to synthesize the latest understanding of key pathways of fecal microbe ingestion by IYC and their links to diarrhea, EED, and poor nutrition and development outcomes.
Specifically, the review sought to:

Date: 21 February 2018

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