Publications: Health & Sanitation

Directive provisoire

Eawag [Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology], WSSCC [Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council], 2006

Eawag [Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology], 2006

German edition of Eawag News on material flows in foreign lands. An accounting method for the analysis of flows of ecologically significant materials and resources is increasingly being used by Eawag to assess acute environmental problems in developing and emerging countries. The German edition of Eawag News reports on projects carried out in Bangladesh, Eritrea, Congo/Rwanda, Cuba, Thailand and Vietnam.

EAWAG News 62d December 2006

Download from: EAWAG

Provisional Guideline for Decision-Makers

Eawag [Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology], WSSCC [Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council], 2005

This guideline presents the Household-Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES) approach, which was developed by an Environmental Sanitation Working Group of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).

Download PDF or order hard copy from: Eawag (Available in English and French)

Directriz provisional.

Eawag [Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology], WSSCC [Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council], 2006

C Acka-Douable, Alain Nicolas Betsi, Guéladio Cissé, Cléopâtre Kablan, Benjamin G. Koudou, Andres Tschannen, 2007

Care/Fonds Mondial de lutte contre le sida, le paludisme et la tuberculose, 57 p.

Noah Adamtey, Olufunke Cofie, Seth K.A. Danso, Dionys Forster, Godfred K. Ofosu-Budu, 2009

This study investigated the type and form of inorganic N fertiliser that is capable of improving the nitrogen content of Co and monitored the changes in the properties of this N-enriched product under storage.

In: Waste Management 29: 2429–2436.

Download from: Science Direct

A Field Study in Nicaragua

Anne-Marie Altherr, Fabrizio Butera, Hans-Joachim Mosler, Robert Tobias, 2006

"Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is an uncomplicated and cheap technology providing individuals with safe drinking water by exposing water-filled plastic bottles to sunlight for 6 hours to kill waterborne pathogens. Two communities were visited, and 81 families (40 SODIS users and 41 nonusers) were interviewed. The relationship between several factors and the intention to use SODIS in the future and actual use were tested. The results showed that intention to use and actual use are mainly related to an overall positive attitude, intention to use is related to the use of SODIS by neighbors, and actual use is related to knowledge about SODIS; SODIS users reported a significantly lower incidence in diarrhea than SODIS nonusers. These results suggest that promotion activities should aim at creating a positive attitude, for example, by choosing a promoter that is able to inspire confidence in the new technology."

Health Education & Behavior 2006, published online 17 November 2006

Available from: SAGE JOURNALS Online

Armand Ambassa Ndiomo, 2005

In: Mémoire de Dess en Sciences de l’environnement. Université de Yaoundé, Cameroun.

Download

Mary Arends-Kuenning, Flora Kessy, 2007

The low contraceptive prevalence rate and the existence of unmet demand for family planning services present a challenge for parties involved in family planning research in Tanzania. The observed situation has been explained by the demand-side variables such as socioeconomic characteristics and cultural values that maintain the demand for large families. A small, but growing body of research is examining the effect of supply-side factors such as quality of care of family planning services on the demand for contraceptives. This paper analyses the demand and supply factors determining contraceptive use in Tanzania using the Tanzania Service Availability Survey (1996) and the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (1996) data sets. The results show that access to family planning services and quality of care of services are important determinants of contraceptive use in Tanzania even after controlling for demand-side factors.

Journal of Biosocial Science 2007, Vol. 39, Issue 1, pp. 1-26

Available from: Cambridge University Press

Pham Ngoc Bao, 2006

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

"This study focus on investigation in details the potential and limitations of existing technical alternatives on human excreta and domestic wastewater management in Haiphong, with a case study in Cat Bi ward, where there is a huge potential for using of onsite and decentralised sanitations for human excreta and wastewater disposal and where people having high potential of willing to pay for wastewater and sanitation fee. SWOT analysis technique has been used in the evaluation process. [...]"

Download

Expériences et coûts

Mahamat Béchir, Saada Daoud, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Kaspar Wyss, Jakob Zinsstag, 2004

This report describes a network of public health care workers, veterinarians and nomadic pastoralists that was set up in Chad to increase vaccination coverage to nomadic children and women who had rarely been vaccinated before. The objectives of the project were to provide human vaccination in conjunction with existing veterinary services, to evaluate the feasibility and limitations of such campaigns, to determine what other services could be provided concurrently, and to estimate the savings for public health care cases in comparison with carrying out vaccination separately. The joint vaccination campaign approach is innovative, appreciated by nomadic pastoralists and less expensive than separate vaccination. By using the mobility of veterinarians in remote zones far from health care facilities, vaccination can be provided to nomadic children and women in countries with limited resources.

Médecine Tropicale 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 497-502

Download

Prevention of and care for people with HIV/AIDS

Alain Nicolas Betsi, Guéladio Cissé, Benjamin G. Koudou, Z. Madougou, Y. Ouattara, A. M. Pignol, Marcel Tanner, Andres Tschannen, Jürg Utzinger, 2006

"In September 2002, an armed conflict erupted in Côte d'Ivoire which has since divided the country in the government-held south and the remaining territory controlled by the 'Forces Armées des Forces Nouvelles' (FAFN). There is concern that conflict-related population movements, breakdown of health systems and food insecurity could significantly increase the incidence of HIV infections and other sexually-transmitted infections, and hence jeopardize the country's ability to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Our objective was to assess and quantify the effect this conflict had on human resources and health systems that provide the backbone for prevention, treatment and care associated with HIV/AIDS. We obtained data through a questionnaire survey targeted at key informants in 24 urban settings in central, north and west Côte d'Ivoire and reviewed relevant Ministry of Health (MoH) records. We found significant reductions of health staff in the public and private sector along with a collapse of the health system and other public infrastructures, interruption of condom distribution and lack of antiretrovirals. On the other hand, there was a significant increase of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), some of which claim a partial involvement in the combat with HIV/AIDS. The analysis shows the need that these NGOs, in concert with regional and international organizations and United Nations agencies, carry forward HIV/AIDS prevention and care efforts, which ought to be continued through the post-conflict stage and then expanded to comprehensive preventive care, particularly antiretroviral treatment."

AIDS Care 2006, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 356-365

Available to purchase from: Informaworld

Franziska Bieri, 2005

The thesis investigates into the relation between river water quality, land-use and nutrient pollution processes in Tha Chin River Basin, and aims at obtaining a spatial and temporal overview on water quality. The results allow a preliminary identification of key parameters and priority areas for remedial actions.

Download

Claudia Binder, Hans-Joachim Mosler, 2006

"In this paper, we apply the method of material flow analysis to analyze the consumption and waste mass flows of short-lived goods and we provide first insights into the waste management behavior of households in Santiago de Cuba. The goods analyzed are glass, aluminum, organic material and PET. The necessary data were gathered in personal interviews with 1171 households using a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions about socio-demographic variables, such as age, sex, education, income and occupation. The households were asked how many PET bottles, aluminum and glass containers they consume per month and how they dispose of the different kinds of garbage. [...]"

Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2006, Published online 2 October 2006

Available from: ScienceDirect

Aimee Ortiz Blanco, 2005

Master's Thesis, Universidad de Oriente, Cuba

Download

Christoph Boller, Deo Mtasiwa, Marcel Tanner, Kaspar Wyss, 2003

"Objective To compare the quality of public and private first-tier antenatal care services in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, using defined criteria.
Methods Structural attributes of quality were assessed through a checklist, and process attributes, including interpersonal and technical aspects, through observation and exit interviews. A total of 16 health care providers, and 166 women in the public and 188 in the private sector, were selected by systematic random sampling for inclusion in the study. Quality was measured against national standards, and an overall score calculated for the different aspects to permit comparison.
Findings The results showed that both public and private providers were reasonably good with regard to the structural and interpersonal aspects of quality of care. However, both were poor when it came to technical aspects of quality. For example, guidelines for dispensing prophylactic drugs against anaemia or malaria were not respected, and diagnostic examinations for the assessment of gestation, anaemia, malaria or urine infection were frequently not performed. In all aspects, private providers were significantly better than public ones.
Conclusion Approaches to improving quality of care should emerge progressively as a result of regular quality assessments. Changes should be introduced using an incremental approach addressing few improvements at a time, while ensuring participation in, and ownership of, every aspect of the strategy by health personnel, health planners and managers and also the community."

Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003, Vol. 81, Number 2, pp. 116-122

Available from: The World Health Organization

Bassirou Bonfoh, Idriss O. Alfaroukh, A. Fané, Zakaria Farah, J. Nicolet, C. Roth, Cheikh F. Simbé, A.N. Traoré, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"The present study aimed to improve the microbiological quality of the milk, from the cow’s udder to the selling point by container washing and disinfecting. The total counts (TC), Enterobacteriaceae counts (EBC) were used as quality indicators. [...] The study suggests that in milk production area, besides udder infection and water quality, hygiene behaviour with respect to hand washing, container’s cleaning and disinfection are the key areas that remain of relevance to milk hygiene intervention."

Food Control 2006, Vol. 17, Issue 2, pp. 153-161

Available from: ScienceDirect

Implications en santé publique.

Bassirou Bonfoh, M. Hetzel, C. Roth, P. Steinmann, A. Wasem, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

Bassirou Bonfoh, Riccardo Aebi, Idriss O. Alfaroukh, René Badertscher, Marius Collomb, Zakaria Farah, Jacques Meyer, Brita Rehberger, Cheikh F. Simbé, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

Milk from Malian Zebu cows was analysed during the dry and hot season (March–June) in order to assess its composition and the components variation according to the presence of subclinical mastitis and supplementary feeding. The Zebu cow milk (n=30) was composed of 8 g/kg ash, 43 g/kg fat, 48 g/kg lactosemonohydrate, 37 g/kg proteins and 134 g/kg total solids. One-third of the cows tested positive to subclinical mastitis (white blood cell count >350,000/mL). Milk components were significantly affected by the somatic cell count (decrease of lactosemonohydrate, increase of fat and total solids P<0.01). Supplementation of the diet of Zebu cows with low quantity of pasture straw significantly and positively affected milk composition. The fatty acids were composed of a high proportion of polyunsaturated, long-chain fatty acids (oleic acid). This indicates that Zebu cows at this period of the year mobilize body fat for milk production because of the energy deficit in their diet. Lack of supplementary feeding of the Zebu cows and subclinical mastitis appeared to be main constraints in the extensive livestock system in Mali.

Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 2005, Vol. 18(1), pp. 29-38

Available from: ScienceDirect

Une étude anthropologique sur l'importance des relations sociales en cas de maladie à Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire)

Rita Bossart, 2003

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

For further information please contact the author

Social relations and illness in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Rita Bossart, 2003

"Various studies on African solidarity, survival strategies and the 'therapy man agement group' [J. M. Janzen (1978) The Quest for Therapy in Lower Zaire, Berkeley, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press] have suggested that institutionalized relationships in the form of networks or groups afford an individual access to resources, also in case of illness. My study reconsiders these arguments in ethnographic research about everyday illness management. It focuses on a heterogeneous urban neighbourhood in Abidjan and analyses who offers help to whom, and what kind of help people offer to one another. The findings show that social networks play an important but at the same time restricted role in illness management. The main source of assistance in response to affliction is household members. Apart from emotional and moral support, relatives living outside the household and non-kin play only a minor role. The social network offers help only sporadically, and very often the sick person has to ask friends and family several times before she or he receives financial or practical support. The emphasis given to social networks in the existing literature is often overestimated, at least in the case of illness. These findings implicate the importance of strengthening informal and formal security systems, especially in an urban context of economic hardship and political insecurity."

Anthropology & Medicine 2003, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 343-359

Available from: Informaworld

Isabelle Bucher, 2005

Master's Thesis, Graduate Institute of Development Studies (iuéd), Geneva, Switzerland

This thesis describes the legal and institutional framework related to urban environmental sanitation in Hanoi, Vietnam. It analyses recent changes as well as potentials and limitations.

Download

CM Budke, W Qian, J Qiu, P Torgerson, Jakob Zinsstag, 2004

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 71(1):56-64

Carmen Lucila Camargo López, 2005

Master's Thesis, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia

Concretamente se realizo un estudio acerca de las características sociales, económicas y culturales, que influyen en la difusión y adopción de la innovación SODIS en familias de distritos de Cochabamba, Potosí, Oruro y Santa Cruz.

Download

Héctor Castillo Berthier, 2003

"This paper reviews the contribution of the book ‘The Garbage Society: Caciquismo in Mexico City’; written 20 years ago when no official statistics on garbage production were available, to the development of sustainable waste management practice in Mexico. At that time public information was extremely difficult to obtain and environmental pollution was not regarded as an important research area for many disciplines, including social sciences. The objective of ‘The Garbage Society’ was to provide a detailed description of all the stages involved in garbage disposal from the time when it is discarded, until it resurfaces in recycled products. This process can be summarized as Garbage+Working FORCE=Merchandise. The garbage problem in Mexico City is an accurate reflection of the Mexican political system that has traditionally supported corporatism in which caciques (a person who exercises absolute power over a group) play a key role. Current data are used to verify the events of that first study and through reflection on the historical process, to indicate the requirements for on-going research as a means of clarifying and categorizing the inherent problems associated with sustainable waste management in Mexico."

Resources, Conservation & Recycling 2003, Volume 39, Issue 3, Pages 193-210

Available from: ScienceDirect

Andrea Catenazzi, 2008

In: Bouchanine F, Rabinovich A, editors. Sciences sociales et prise en compte du social dans les politiques urbaines: connaissances pour l’action, connaissances dans l’action. submitted

Download

Jerome Chenal, Cheikh Samba Wade, 2009

In: Chenal J, Pedrazzini Y, Cissé G, Kaufmann V, éditeurs. Quelques rues d’Afrique. Observation et gestion de l’espace public à Abidjan, Dakar et Nouakchott. Lausanne : Les éditions du Lasur, pp 65-80.

For more information, click here

Jerome Chenal, Isakha Diagana, 2009

In: Chenal J, Pedrazzini Y, Cissé G, Kaufmann V, éditeurs. Quelques rues d’Afrique. Observation et gestion de l’espace public à Abidjan, Dakar et Nouakchott. Lausanne : Les éditions du Lasur, pp 33-48.

For more information, click here

An illustration from West Africa

Guéladio Cissé, Marcel Tanner, 2007

In: Thomas Bearth, Barbara Becker, Rolf Kappel, Gesine Krüger, Roger Pfister, editors. 2007. Afrika im Wandel. vdf Hochschulverlag AG, ETH Zürich.

Order from: vdf Hochschulverlag AG

Implications for nutrient recycling in urban agriculture

Olufunke Cofie, S. Agbottah, F. Awuha, H. Esseku, Doulaye Kone, Agnes Montangero, Martin Strauss, 2006

This study investigated the possibility of recycling nutrients in human excreta and municipal solid waste for use in agriculture. It reports on the use of drying beds in separating solid and liquid fractions of faecal sludge (FS) so that the solids can be co-composted and the organic matter and part of the nutrients captured for urban agriculture...

Water Research 2006, 40:1, pp. 75-82

Available Online from: Science Direct

Corinne Corradi, 2009

The focus of this study was set on pastoralist's livelihood capitals as well as qualitative dimensions of access. Available resources were identified and impeding factors when mobilising those were described. The financial means for health care were found to be limited by pastoralists themselves, despite the possession of cattle and a milk selling contract to a dairy plant. Further, insufficient and unreliable transport possibilities, as well as certain shortcomings in the quality of health services were pointed out by pastoralists. Mutual understanding and communication between Fulani pastoralist and health care personnel was also found to be insufficient and impeding for accessing health care. Limited access was also related to economic structures on the market, social norms within Fulani society and individual strategies, depending for example on pulaaku, the Fulani code of conduct. The lack of infrastructure and medical supplies further did not contribute to the utilisation of health services, either.

Master's Thesis at University of Zurich

Download

Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Saada Daoud, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2004

Within the framework of an multidisciplinary research and action program, morbidity patterns were assessed in three nomadic communities in Chad. A total of 1092 women, men and children were interviewed and examined in the course of three surveys carried out by a physician during the dry and rainy season. Nomads reporting no health problems were rare. Tuberculosis was suspected in 4,6 % of adults after clinical examination and bronchopulmonary disorders in children less than five years of age. Febrile diarrhea was more prevalent during the wet season when access to clean drinking water was more difficult. Simple malaria was rarely diagnosed in Arabs during the dry season. In contrast simple malaria was frequent in Fulani who stay in the vicinity of Lake Chad during the dry period. Protein-energy malnutrition was observed in only 3 of 328 children younger than 15 years of age.

Médecine Tropicale 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 469-473

Download

Etienne Diagne, 2005

Mater's Thesis, Ecole Inter-Etats d’Ingénieurs de l’Equipement Rural de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Download

Colette Diguimbaye, Franca Baggi, Markus Hilty, Hassane H. Mahamat, Richard Ngandolo, Gaby E. Pfyffer, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"The molecular characterizations of the first 40 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Chad revealed a high proportion of isolates of the Cameroon family (33%), of which one isolate showed a monodrug resistance. In total, 9/33 (27%) isolates were resistant to isoniazid. The implications of these findings are discussed."

Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2006, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 1575-1577

Available from: Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Colette Diguimbaye, Franca Baggi, Glyn Hewinson, Markus Hilty, Hassane H. Mahamat, Richard Ngandolo, Gaby E. Pfyffer, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"This slaughterhouse study in Chad shows higher proportions of Mycobacterium bovis isolates among Mbororo than Arabe zebu cattle. Spoligotyping shows a homogenetic population structure for M. bovis and lack of spacer 30, as were found in neighboring Cameroon and Nigeria. This finding suggests transborder and ongoing transmission between cattle."

Emerging Infectious Diseases 2006, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp.

Available online from: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Download PDF from: Emerging Infectious Diseases

Colette Diguimbaye, Franca Baggi, Markus Hilty, Hassane H. Mahamat, Richard Ngandolo, Gaby E. Pfyffer, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Véronique Vincent, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"In Chad, during a study on tuberculosis in humans and cattle, 52 non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) strains were isolated. By means of INNO-LiPA, PRA-hsp65 amplification and sequencing of 16S rDNA, NTM species of 25/52 isolates were identified. M. fortuitum complex (8) was the most frequent species, followed by M. nonchromogenicum (4) and M. avium complex (4). PRA method could identify M. fortuitum 3rd variant among isolates derived from cattle specimens. This finding could confirm the existence of farcy in the Chadian cattle population as M. fortuitum 3rd variant and putitative pathogen M. farcinogenes can't be distinguished by the methods used in this study. Half of the NTM isolates could not be specified and we considered them as contaminants from the environment."

Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 2006, Vol. 148, No. 5, pp. 251-256

Available to purchase from: Verlag Hans Huber

Modou Diouf, 2005

Master's Thesis, Ecole Inter-Etats d’Ingénieurs de l’Equipement Rural de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Download

Kouassi Dongo, Jean Biémi , Guéladio Cissé, Fernand Koffi Kouamé, Brama Koné, Marcel Tanner, 2009

The integration into a Geographical information system (GIS) of multi-source data from QUICKBIRD imagery, ancilliary data and the results from socio-environmental investigations alowed to analyse the sanitary environment of 6 precarious settlements located along an open and exposed drainage channel, in Yopougon (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire). The observatory of the sanitary environment of these deprivileged areas were conducted through analysis and mapping of main factors influencing the life quality of the populations. The spatial sharpness of QUICKBIRD imagery contributed to update the land use/land cover map. Analysis of various factors witch characterise the sanitary environment reveals many insufficiences as regards the management of the sanitation system of the settlements, thus exposing the populations to illness related to sanitation like malaria and diarrhoea. The findings will permit planing appropriate measurements to overcome sanitation problems in these précarious areas.

In: VertigO – La revue en sciences de l'environnement 8(3).

Download

GIS Mapping, Modelling, and Social Anthropology Approaches

Kouassi Dongo, 2006

The purpose of this study was to contribute to syndrome mitigation related to deficiencies in the management of urban drainage and solid and liquid waste in Abidjan’s informal settlements in order to assist in improving living conditions of these populations. The study focuses on solid and liquid waste management in 6 informal settlements (Doukouré, Yaoséhi, Mami Faitai, Yamoussoukro, Gbinta and Niangon Continu) which are located along a main drainage channel.

Dongo K. 2006. Analysis of Deficiencies in the Management of Urban Drainage and Solid and Liquid Waste in the Slums of Yopougon (Abidjan, Ivory Coast): GIS Mapping, Modelling, and Social Anthropology Approaches [PhD thesis]. Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire: Université de Cocody.

Download

Kouassi Dongo, Jean Biémi , Guéladio Cissé, David Dumoulin, Marcel Tanner, 2007

Tropical humid climates of sub-Saharan Africa with a high level of variability build a challenge for hygienic models used in urban drainage. Based on a probabilistic and stochastic approach,this work optimised and designed models which best simulate tropical downpours and improved calculations related to urban drainage in Abidjan and in other urban settings with similar climatic conditions.

In: African Journal of Science and Technology. Science and Engineering Series Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 8 - 16.

Download

Kouassi Dongo, Jean Biémi , Guéladio Cissé, Métangbo Diomandé, Marcel Tanner, 2005

In sub-Saharan Africa, the "hygienic" model used in urban drainage is faced with constraints in humid tropical environment, subjected to a high level of climatic variability. In Côte d’Ivoire adapting Montana's rain model is not satisfactory for certain time slots whereas this model includes the Caquot's rate-of-flow model used in urban
drainage. This work aims at optimizing and designing models which best simulate tropical downpours and help in calculations relating to urban drainage in Abidjan and elsewhere.

In: 10th International Conference on Urban Drainage, Copenhagen/Denmark, 21-26 August 2005.

Download

Yopougan (Abidjan): a study of the influence of physical conditions and deficiencies in liquid and solid waste management systems [in French]

Kouassi Dongo, 2006

PhD Thesis, Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire

For further information please contact the author

Stefan Dongus, Marcia C de Castro, Axel W. Drescher, Ulrike Fillinger, Laura Gosoniu, Khadija Kannady, Gerry F. Killeen, Hassan Mshinda, Deo Mtasiwa, Dickson Nyika, Marcel Tanner, 2009

A survey of agricultural areas combined with routinely monitored mosquito larval information was conducted in urban Dar es Salaam to investigate how agricultural and geographical features may influence the presence of Anopholes larvae.

Dongus S et al. 2009. Urban agriculture and Anopholes habitats in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Geospatial Health 3(2):189-210.

Download

Stefan Dongus, 2009

This study describes how simple participatory mapping, GIS and remote sensing applications can enable successful urban malaria control.

Dongus S. 2009. Urban agriculture and operational mosquito larvae control: mitigating malaria risk in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. PhD thesis. University of Basel.

Download

Mohamed Doumbia, 2006

PhD Thesis, Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire

For further information please contact the author

A User's Manual

Silke Drescher, Iftekhar Enayetullah, MAD. Singha, Christian Zurbruegg, 2006

Salome Dürr, Martin I. Meltzer, R. Mindekem, Jakob Zinsstag, 2008

Emerg Infect Dis 14:1650-1652.

Download

Aleix Ferrer Duch, 2008

In the context of the Work Package 3 (Health and Environmental sanitation)within the NCCR North-South, a conceptual framework has been developed using an approach combining health, ecological, socio-economic and cultural assessments.

Master's Thesis at University of Basel

Download

Ulrike Fillinger, Prosper P Chaki, Marcia C de Castro, Stefan Dongus, Yvonne Geissbühler, Nico J. Govella, Khadija Kannady, Gerry F. Killeen, Steven W Lindsay, Evan M. Mathenge, Hassan Mshinda, Deo Mtasiwa, Dickson Nyika, Burton H. Singer, Marcel Tanner, Michael J. Vanek, George William, 2008

Download

Gilbert Fokou, Tobias Haller, Jakob Zinsstag, 2004

"Cette contribution présente les articulations d’une étude actuellement en cours dans la région du Logone et Chari au Cameroun et dont le but est d’oeuvrer pour l’élaboration des savoirs et des connaissances pour le développement pastoral. De nombreux groupes de populations sédentaires et nomades vivent dans cette localité et dépendent des plaines inondées du Sud du lac Tchad pour leur subsistance. Or, les ressources naturelles connaissent de grandes variations saisonnières et deviennent parfois la propriété des groupes sédentaires. De ce fait, les éleveurs nomades éprouvent de nombreuses difficultés pour accéder non seulement aux pâturages et à l’eau, mais aussi aux services de santé de qualité (centres hospitaliers, médicaments efficaces). L’ambition ici est de définir de nouvelles conditions institutionnelles d’accès aux soins de santé pour les populations sédentaires et nomades. En fait, la plupart des problèmes auxquels sont confrontés les nomades de nos jours seraient dus à l’inadaptation des règles formelles en vigueur aux stratégies de survie des populations rurales. Celles mises en place à l’époque pré-coloniale ne sont plus opérationnelles. L’on pourrait conclure, sous forme d’hypothèse à vérifier, que la définition de nouveaux cadres institutionnels de gestion des ressources naturelles pourrait contribuer à l’amélioration des conditions de santé des pasteurs nomades."

Médecine Tropicale 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 1-5

Download

Dionys Forster, Yves Bühler, T.W. Kellenberger, 2007

In: Bill, R. (ed.) 2007. GIS - Theory and Applications, Textbook for the DAAD Summer School, Internal Report, Volume 16, Rostock University, pp. 177-188.

PDF download:

English

A study in medical anthropology of the local concepts and practices of malaria in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire [in French]

Stefanie Granado, 2008

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

For further information please contact the author

Stefanie Granado, Anne-Marie Ettien Ablan, Nadège Adjoua Boko N'Gronma, Brigit Obrist, Marcel Tanner, Albert Kouakou Yao, 2006

The article aims to better understand the relation between urban vulnerability, environmental risks, and commoditization in regard to palu in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). This research in medical anthropology analyses the local illness palu (abbreviation of the paludisme, e.g. malaria), a bodily experience of non-specific symptoms.
Environmental risks are closely linked to palu. They are locally understood as a cause of palu, which, as the illness becomes a concrete bodily experience, offer a possibility of acting upon and addressing these risks. The patient does have the possibility of treating its palu with remedies. Therefore, commoditization of drugs not
only represents a source of vulnerability but also offers a possibility to face persisting environmental risks. Vulnerability and its attached meanings are a dynamic concept. Unfortunately, commoditization of drugs implies high risks of over- or mistreatment.

In French

VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement hors série 3

Download

Stefanie Granado, 2005

Bodily experiences, reported causes and curing strategies against palu (paludisme, malaria) as embodied metaphors in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Tsantsa 2005, 10: pp. 157-161

Download

Sukon Hadsoi, 2005

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

"The prime objective of this research is to investigate the suitability of percolate from constructed wetland (CW) treating septage in agricultural application with the specific focus on determination of appropriate application ratio of percolate on sunflower plantation and crop yields."

Download

Udo Heinss, Thammarat Koottatep, Agnes Montangero, Martin Strauss, 2003

"Ein großer Anteil der in tropischen Großstädten eingesammelten Fäkalschlämme gelangt unbehandelt in die Umwelt. Daher ist es notwendig, neben angepassten Schlammbehandlungsverfahren auch Fäkalschlammmanagement-Konzepte zu entwickeln. Eine mögliche Behandlungsoption, die Schlammvererdung in bepflanzten Trockenbeeten, konnte erfolgreich in Bangkok getestet werden. Dabei wurde eine hohe optimale Feststoffbeladung von 250 kg TS/m2 d gefunden."

KA- Abwasser, Abfall 2003, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 1162-1167

Download

A Field Study in Bolivia

Simone Heri, 2006

Master's Thesis, University of Zurich, Switzerland

"In this study we examine a broad array of theory-based factors derived from diffusion research that influence the current use and intention to use of solar water disinfection (SODIS), a simple, low-cost technology for the treatment of drinking water on household-level. The perceived attributes of an innovation, the nature of the social system in which an innovation is diffused, the extend of change agents’ promotion efforts in diffusing the innovation and the nature of the communication channels were operationalized resulting in 16 variables to assess the use and intent to use of the innovation of SODIS. The aim of the study is to determine the influence of each factor and its predictive power. [...]"

Download

Markus Hilty, Franca Baggi, Colette Diguimbaye, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

The discriminatory power of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) typing based on 16 known loci (12 MIRUs, 3 ETRs and VNTR 3232) was assessed for Mycobacterium bovis strains collected sequentially at the slaughterhouse of N’Djaména, Chad. Of 67 M. bovis strains analyzed, 67% were clustered. In this study, VNTR typing was highly discriminative with an overall allelic diversity (hoa) of 0.922. We defined five loci (ETR A, B, C and MIRU 26, 27) as highly (h > 0.25), two loci (MIRU 4, and VNTR 3232) as moderately (0.11 < h < 0.25) and three loci (MIRU 16, 20, 31) as poorly (0.01 < h < 0.11) discriminative. Six loci (MIRU 2, 10, 23, 24, 39, and 40) showed no polymorphism at all. VNTR typing of the five highly discriminative loci (h = 0.917) proved to be most appropriate for first line typing of M. bovis strains of Chad and superior than spoligotyping (hsp = 0.789). In contrast to Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, a consensus on VNTR loci needs to be found for M. bovis strains. The selection of a generally agreed set of VNTR loci for molecular discrimination of M. bovis in different geographical settings is discussed.

Veterinary Microbiology 2005, Vol. 109, Issues 3-4, pp. 217-222

Available from: ScienceDirect

Markus Hilty, Daniel Boakye, Ernestina Mensah-Quainoo, David Ofori-Adjei, Gerd Pluschke, Françoise Portaels, Simona Rondini, Esther Schelling, Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"The molecular typing methods used so far for Mycobacterium ulcerans isolates have not been able to identify genetic differences among isolates from Africa. This apparent lack of genetic diversity among M. ulcerans isolates is indicative of a clonal population structure. We analyzed the genetic diversity of 72 African isolates, including 57 strains from Ghana, by variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) typing based on a newly identified polymorphic locus designated ST1 and the previously described locus MIRU 1. Three different genotypes were found in Ghana, demonstrating for the first time the genetic diversity of M. ulcerans in an African country. While the ST1/MIRU 1 allele combination BD/BAA seems to dominate in Africa, it was only rarely found in isolates from Ghana, where the combination BD/B was dominant and observed in all districts studied. A third variant genotype (C/BAA) was found only in the Amansie-West district. The results indicate that new genetic variants of M. ulcerans emerged and spread within Ghana and support the potential of VNTR-based typing for genotyping of M. ulcerans."

Journal of Bacteriology 2006, Vol. 188, No. 4, p. 1462-1465

Available from: Journal of Bacteriology

Development and refinement of innovative molecular typing tools to study mycobacterial infection

Markus Hilty, 2006

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

"One approach of molecular epidemiology of mycobacteria is the genotyping and comparison of DNA of infectious strains in order to monitor the transmission pathways of diseases. It is based on the assumption that patients infected with clustered strains are epidemiologically linked. Such results may help in understanding the modes of transmission and therefore in putting in place an adapted control strategy. [...] Therefore the overall aim of this study was to contribute to the development and refinement of innovative molecular typing tools in order to study Mycobacterium tuberculosis, bovis and ulcerans infections."

Download

Dong-Bin Huang, 2006

PhD Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

In his thesis, Dong-Bin Huang developed an event-based dynamic material flow and life-cycle-inventory modeling method and applied it in the urban area of Kunming (China) for urban water resource planning and pollution control of Dianchi Lake.

Download

New solutions required for urban water management in Kunming City

Dong-Bin Huang, Hans-Peter Bader, Willi Gujer, Ruth Scheidegger, Roland Schertenleib, 2006

"Despite continuous investment and various efforts to control pollution, urban water environments are worsening in large parts of the developing world. In order to reveal potential constraints and limitations of current practices of urban water management and to stimulate proactive intervention, we conducted a material flow analysis of the urban water system in Kunming City. The results demonstrate that the current efficiency of wastewater treatment is only around 25% and the emission of total phosphorous from the city into its receiving water, Dianchi Lake, is more than 25 times higher than its estimated tolerance. With regard to the crisis of water quantity and quality, the goal of a sustainable urban water environment cannot be attained with the current problem-solving approach in the region due to the technical limitations of the conventional urban drainage and treatment systems. A set of strategies is therefore proposed. The urban drainage system in Zurich is used as a reference for a potential best-available technology for conventional urban water management (BAT) scenario in terms of its low combined frequency of sewer overflow."

Journal of Environmental Management, online since July 2006

Available online from: ScienceDirect

An Urban Water Management Case

Dong-Bin Huang, Derek E. Chitwood, Willi Gujer, Peter Loukopoulos, Roland Schertenleib, Roland W. Scholz, Hansruedi Siegrist, 2007

"This paper presents a model structure aimed at offering an overview of the various elements of a strategy and exploring their multidimensional effects through time in an efficient way. It treats a strategy as a set of discrete events planned to achieve a certain strategic goal and develops a new form of causal networks as an interfacing component between decision makers and environment models, e.g., life cycle inventory and material flow models. The causal network receives a strategic plan as input in a discrete manner and then outputs the updated parameter sets to the subsequent environmental models. Accordingly, the potential dynamic evolution of environmental systems caused by various strategies can be stepwise simulated. It enables a way to incorporate discontinuous change in models for environmental strategy analysis, and enhances the interpretability and extendibility of a complex model by its cellular constructs. It is exemplified using an urban water management case in Kunming, a major city in Southwest China. By utilizing the presented method, the case study modeled the cross-scale interdependencies of the urban drainage system and regional water balance systems, and evaluated the effectiveness of various strategies for improving the situation of Dianchi Lake."

Environmental Science & Technology 2007, Vol. 41, Issue 3, pp. 915-921

Available for purchase from: ACS Publications

A cost-effectiveness analysis from Chad, Central Africa

G. Hutton, Yemadji N’Diékhor , Kaspar Wyss, 2003

"In Chad, as in most sub-Saharan Africa countries, HIV/AIDS poses a massive public health threat as well as an economic burden, with prevalence rates estimated at 9% of the adult population. In defining and readjusting the scope and content of the national HIV/AIDS control activities, policy makers sought to identify the most cost-effective options for HIV/AIDS control. The cost-effectiveness analysis reported in this paper uses a mixture of local and international information sources combined with appropriate assumptions to model the cost-effectiveness of feasible HIV prevention options in Chad, with estimates of the budget impact. The most cost-effective options at under US$100 per infection prevented were peer group education of sex workers and screening of blood donors to identify infected blood before transfusion. These options were followed by mass media and peer group education of high risk men and young people, at around US$500 per infection prevented. Anti-retroviral therapy for HIV infected pregnant women and voluntary counselling and testing were in the order of US$1000 per infection prevented. The paper concludes with recommendations for which activities should be given priority in the next phase of the national HIV/AIDS control programme in Chad."

The International Journal of Health Planning and Management 2003, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 117-136

Available from: Wiley InterScience

Thi Cam Hong Huynh, 2008

Master's Thesis at Asian Institute of Technology

Download

A.M. Ingallinella, R.G. Fernández, Agnes Montangero, Graciela Sanguinetti, Martin Strauss, 2002

"A one year study was carried out in a waste stabilization ponds system where septage and sewage are cotreated. The system consists of two septage ponds which operate alternately followed by two ponds in series which receive the combined effluent. The septage ponds also act as evaporation ponds for the accumulated sludge. The monitoring program was divided in two phases. The results of the first phase indicate that the effluent of septage ponds has an adequate quality to be discharged into the waste stabilization ponds designed to treat sewage and that is possible to use the septage ponds to dry the accumulated sludge. Further investigation is needed to find suitable post-treatment of the sludge in order to use it in agriculture."

Water Science & Technology 2002, Vol .45, No. 1, pp. 9–15

Available from: IWA Publishing

Strategies, Regulations and Treatment Options

A.M. Ingallinella, Thammarat Koottatep, Agnes Montangero, Graciela Sanguinetti, Martin Strauss, 2002

In urban centres of industrialising countries, the majority of houses are served by on-site sanitation systems such as septic tanks and unsewered toilets. The faecal sludges (FS) collected from these systems are usually discharged untreated into the urban and peri-urban environment, posing great risks to water resources and to public health. Contrary to wastewater management, the development of strategies to cope with faecal sludges, adapted to the conditions prevailing in developing countries, have long been neglected. The authors describe the current situation and discuss selected issues of FS management. A proposal is made for a rational setting of sludge quality or treatment standards in economically emerging countries [...].

Water Science and Technology 2002, Vol. 46, No. 10, pp. 285-294.

Available for purchase from: IWA Publishing

Analyse financière et devenir des associations dans ces associations

Raphael Jean Richard, 2005

Master's Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland

"La gestion des ordures ménagères dans le contexte africain et burkinabé manque d'organisation et de coordination, car le secteur des déchets solides n'est pas considéré comme prioritaire. Pourtant, les déchets présentent un risque réel pour la santé et l'environnement. Le Centre Régional pour l'Eau Potable et l'Assainissement (CREPA) a appuyé avec un soutien financier, technique et formatif des associations de quartier qui souhaitaient améliorer leur cadre de vie. Cette étude s'est penchée sur les deux premières associations assistées par l'Institution à Ouagadougou en 1993 et 1994. [...]"

Download

Supattra Jiawkok, 2006

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

In her MSc thesis, Supattra Jiawkok assessed the existing on-site sanitation systems treating black water in peri-urban communities including (i) the one-cesspool system, (ii) the two-cesspool system in series and (iii) the package tank system at Muaeng Klong Luang Municipality, Klong Luang district, Pathum Thani Province, Thailand.

Download

The role of women’s organisations in a deprived urban area [in French]

Cléopâtre Kablan, 2006

PhD Thesis, Université de Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire

For further information please contact the author

Lutte contre la vulnérabilité des femmes infectées par une association de femmes vivant avec le VIH/sida à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)

Cléopâtre Kablan, Guéladio Cissé, Brigit Obrist, Marcel Tanner, Ismaïla Touré, Kaspar Wyss, 2006

"L'une des préoccupations majeures qui apparaît lorsqu'on s'intéresse au VIH/sida dans les pays du sud, est celle de la vulnérabilité des femmes infectées. Face à cette vulnérabilité, quelles réponses une association de femmes vivant avec le VIH/sida peut-elle apporter ? Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons mené une enquête de terrain auprès d'une association de femmes vivant avec le VIH/sida à Abidjan. Cette enquête qui a combiné approche quantitative et approche qualitative visait à cerner les réponses de l'association face aux risques auxquels sont exposées ces femmes. Les résultats indiquent que face à la vulnérabilité des femmes qui se traduit soit par une rupture des liens sociaux soit par le silence imposé par le risque d'une telle rupture, les soutiens moral, matériel et financier constituent les principales actions menées par l'association."

VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement 2006, hors série 3, Article 6

Download PDF from: VertigO

Mvoubou Félicien Kassa, 2005

Master's Thesis, Ecole Inter-Etats d’Ingénieurs de l’Equipement Rural de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Download

U. Kayali, G. Hutton, R. Mindekem, Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"In the discussion about policies and strategies for rabies prevention in developing countries, intervention costs arise as a major issue. In a pilot mass vaccination campaign against rabies in N'Djaména, Chad, 3000 dogs were vaccinated. We assessed vaccination coverage and cost, showing the cost per dog vaccinated for the public sector and for society. An extrapolation to city level calculated the approximate cost of vaccinating all 23 600 dogs in N'Djaména. In the pilot mass campaign with 3000 dogs the average cost per dog was 1.69 €. to the public and the full societal cost was 2.45 €. If all 23 600 dogs in N'Djaména were vaccinated, the average cost would fall to 1.16 € to the public and 1.93 € to society. Private sector costs account for 31% of the cost to vaccinate 3000 dogs, and 40% of the cost to vaccinate 23 600 dogs. Mass dog vaccination could be a comparatively cheap and ethical way to both control the disease in animals and prevent human cases and exposure, especially in developing countries. The cost-effectiveness of dog vaccination compared with treating victims of dog bites for prevention of human rabies should be further assessed and documented."

Tropical Medicine & International Health 2006, Vol. 11, Issue 7, pp. 1058

Available for purchase from: Blackwell Synergy

U. Kayali, Y. Kaninga, R. Mindekem, Yemadji N’Diékhor , Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, Penelope Vounatsou, Jakob Zinsstag, 2003

"Canine rabies, and thus human exposure to rabies, can be controlled through mass vaccination of the animal reservoir if dog owners are willing to cooperate. Inaccessible, ownerless dogs, however, reduce the vaccination coverage achieved in parenteral campaigns. This study aimed to estimate the vaccination coverage in dogs in three study zones of N’Djaména, Chad, after a pilot free parenteral mass vaccination campaign against rabies. We used a capture–mark–recapture approach for population estimates, with a Bayesian, Markov chain, Monte Carlo method to estimate the total number of owned dogs, and the ratio of ownerless to owned dogs to calculate vaccination coverage. When we took into account ownerless dogs, the vaccination coverage in the dog populations was 87% (95% confidence interval (CI), 84–89%) in study zone I, 71% (95% CI, 64–76%) in zone II, and 64% (95% CI, 58–71%) in zone III. The proportions of ownerless dogs to owned dogs were 1.1% (95% CI, 0–3.1%), 7.6% (95% CI, 0.7–16.5%), and 10.6% (95% CI, 1.6–19.1%) in the three study zones, respectively. Vaccination coverage in the three populations of owned dogs was 88% (95% CI, 84–92%) in zone I, 76% (95% CI, 71–81%) in zone II, and 70% (95% CI, 66–76%) in zone III. Participation of dog owners in the free campaign was high, and the number of inaccessible ownerless dogs was low. High levels of vaccination coverage could be achieved with parenteral mass vaccination. Regular parenteral vaccination campaigns to cover all of N’Djaména should be considered as an ethical way of preventing human rabies when post-exposure treatment is of limited availability and high in cost."

Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003, Vol. 81, No. 10, pp. 739-744

Download PDF from: World Health Organization

U. Kayali, R. Mindekem, Yemadji N’Diékhor , S. Naïssengar, Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, A. Oussiguéré, Jakob Zinsstag, 2003

"This work describes for the first time the incidence risk of passively reported canine rabies, and quantifies reported human exposure in N’Djaména (the capital of Chad). To diagnose rabies, we used a direct immunofluorescent-antibody test (IFAT). From January 2001 to March 2002, we were brought 34 rabies cases in dogs and three cases in cats. Canine cases were geographically clustered. The annual incidence risk of canine rabies was 1.4 (95% CI: 1.2, 1.7) per 1000 unvaccinated dogs. Most of the rabid dogs were owned—although free-roaming and not vaccinated against rabies. Most showed increased aggressiveness and attacked people without being provoked. Eighty-one persons were exposed to rabid dogs and four persons to rabid cats (mostly children<15 years old). Most of the exposed persons were neighbours or family members of the animal owner. Most exposures were transdermal bites, but nearly half of all exposed persons did not apply any first wound care or only applied a traditional treatment. In N’Djaména, humans are often exposed to canine rabies but do not use the full-course post-exposure treatment and wound care is insufficient. Most rabid dogs would be accessible to parenteral vaccination. Pilot vaccination campaigns are needed to determine the success of dog mass vaccination in N’Djaména as a way to prevent animal and human rabies."

Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2003, Vol. 61, Issue 3, pp. 227-233

Available from: ScienceDirect

The Case of the Transborder Zone of Pourié Thiagar (Rosso Senegal) and Mpourié (Rosso Mauritania) [in French]

Moussa Keita, 2006

PhD Thesis, University of Saint Louis, Senegal

For further information please contact the author

Physicochemical and engineering aspects

Simeon Kenfack, 2006

PhD Thesis, EIER, Burkina Faso

For further information, please contact the author

Simeon Kenfack, Guéladio Cissé, M. Kampara, AH. Maiga, C. Pulgarin, S. Rincón, 2005

Info CREPA no. 50, décembre 2005: 22-30.

Ives Magloire Kengne Noumsi, 2008

PhD Thesis, University of Yaoundé, Cameroon

For further information please contact the author

Joe Frazié Kenmoé, 2005

Master's Thesis, Ecole Inter-Etats d’Ingénieurs de l’Equipement Rural de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Download

Kientga, Mathieu Kientga, Mathieu, 2006

Kientga, Mathieu Kientga, Mathieu, 2006

Darryn L. Knobel, Sarah Cleaveland, Paul G. Coleman, Eric M. Fèvre, Martin I. Meltzer, François-Xavier Meslin, M. Elizabeth G. Miranda, Alexandra Shaw, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

Rabies remains an important yet neglected disease in Africa and Asia. Disparities in the affordability and accessibility of post-exposure treatment and risks of exposure to rabid dogs result in a skewed distribution of the disease burden across society, with the major impact falling on those living in poor rural communities, in particular children.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2005, Vol. 83, Number 5, pp. 321-400

Download from: The World Health Organisation

Lea Knopf, B. Betschart, B. Gottstein, F. Jongejan, C. Komoin-Otaka, Jakob Zinsstag, 2002

In the Central Guinea savannah of Côte d’Ivoire, cattle breeding started only 30 years ago. The impact of parasitism on the overall health status and productivity of the trypanotolerant N’Dama cattle in this area is unknown. In close collaboration with national veterinary institutions and local farmers, we studied spectrum, burden and seasonal dynamics of ticks (including aspects of cowdriosis) on N’Dama village cattle.

Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2002, Vol. 53, Issues 1-2, pp. 21-30

Available online from: ScienceDirect

Approche innovante de planification de la gestion des boues de vidange

Halidou Koanda, 2006

PhD Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland

The thesis developed tools for sustainable faecal sludge management: stakeholder analysis combined with stakeholder involvement as a planning model, sociopsychological model for understanding the population willingnesss to improve faecal sludge management, sustainable money fluxes based on sanitations taxes and emptying fees.

Download

Atioumouna Kone, B. V. J. Benié, N. S. Dagnan, K. D. Ekra, B. Kakou, E. Konan, J. Tagliante-Saracino, I. Tiembré, P. Zengbé, 2005

Notre travail est une étude rétrospective de la morbidité palustre sur 3 ans (de 1998 à 2000) dans un hôpital général situé en zone lagunaire (Adiaké).
Il ressort de cette étude que le tiers (34,79 %) des patients ayant consulté présentait un paludisme et que plus de la moitié des hospitalisations étaient des cas de paludisme. Nous avons noté une légère prédominance féminine (52,11 %) en consultation. La population infanto-juvénile était la plus touchée tant en consultation qu’en hospitalisation avec respectivement 58,38 % et 54,97 % ; elle concerne surtout la tranche d’âge de 1 à 4 ans.
Le mois de Juillet pendant ces trois années a enregistré le plus de cas de paludisme. Nous avons constaté que le paludisme se transmet toute l’année avec une légère prédominance à la grande saison des pluies. La principale complication du paludisme qui a occasionné une hospitalisation était l’anémie (82,62 %) qui avait touché les enfants de 0 à 15 ans dans 88, 29 % des cas et les adultes dans 11,71 % des cas. Le paludisme représentait la principale cause de décès en hospitalisation. Ces décès étaient dus dans 81,84 % à l’anémie.

Médecine d'Afrique Noire 2005, No. 5203, pp. 188-192

Free online version available from: Médecine d'Afrique Noire.
Hard copy available from: Médecine d'Afrique Noire.

Atioumouna Kone, P. Carnevale, N. S. Dagnan, J. Tagliante-Saracino, I. Tiembré, 2005

Devant les résultats nous pouvons conclure que les pulvérisation aériennes spatiales d'insecticides permettent de réduire les densités de moustique en général et d'Aedes aegypti en particulier mais que cette réduction est de courte durée. Cette réduction est beaucoup plus marquée sur les populations exophagues que d'endophagues d'où la nécessité de tenir compte de la bio écologie des moustiques lors de l'application de cette technique.

Dakar Médical 2005, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 113-117

Download

Cas de la ville de Sassandra

Atioumouna Kone, K. Adou, B. V. J. Benié, N. S. Dagnan, K. D. Ekra, L. Kouadio, K. P. Odéhouri, I. Tiembré, 2006

L’analyse montre que les pneus abandonnés représentent en moyenne 50% de l’ensemble des gîtes larvaires de la ville de Sassandra. Ils sont les plus productifs car 70% d’entre eux en moyenne contiennent des larves d’Aedes aegypti. Ainsi, ce travail met en évidence, le rôle prépondérant que jouent les pneus abandonnés dans la prolifération d’Aedes aegytpi dans la ville de Sassandra. Ainsi, la lutte antivectorielle prend une place de choix dans la lutte contre la fièvre jaune.

Médecine d’Afrique Noire 2006, Vol. 53, No. 3, pp. 167-170

Hard copy available from: Médecine d'Afrique Noire.

PDF download:

French

Brama Koné, Guéladio Cissé, Simeon Kenfack, 2007

Download

Brama Koné, Guéladio Cissé, Pascal Valentin Houenou, Brigit Obrist, Peter Odermatt, Marcel Tanner, Kaspar Wyss, 2006

"La lagune d'Abidjan est polluée par les déchets urbains. Les populations périurbaines, riveraines de cette lagune sont exposées à la pollution. L'étude porte sur l'évaluation des aspects de vulnérabilité et de résilience des populations exposées. Neuf "focus groups" ou groupes de discussion ont été réalisés sur trois sites qui bordent la lagune. Les populations étudiées se disent victimes de "la ville". Les aspects de leur vulnérabilité rapportés par elles sont entre autres les mauvaises odeurs qui émanent des eaux lagunaires, les mouches et moustiques qui se multiplient en lagune et qui leur apportent des maladies comme le paludisme et les diarrhées, les démangeaisons de corps dont les pêcheurs se plaignent. En ce qui concerne les aspects de résilience, des actions individuelles d'entretien des berges lagunaires sont menées par endroit. Le capital financier, humain et social des malades ou de leur famille joue un rôle important dans leur résilience en cas de maladie."

VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement 2006, hors série 3, Article 5

Download PDF from: VertigO

Thammarat Koottatep, Sukon Hadsoi, Chongrak Polprasert, 2006

"Faecal sludge (FS) from the on-site sanitation systems is a nutrient-rich source but can contain high concentrations of toxic metals and chemicals and infectious micro-organisms. The study employed 3 vertical-flow CW units, each with a dimension of 5×5×0.65 m (width×length×media depth) and planted with cattails (Typha augustifolia). At the solid loading rate of 250 kg total solids (TS)/m2.yr and a 6-day percolate impoundment, the CW system could achieve chemical oxygen demand (COD), TS and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal efficiencies in the range of 80–96%. A solid layer of about 80 cm was found accumulated on the CW bed surface after operating the CW units for 7 years, but no clogging problem has been observed. The CW percolate was applied to 16 irrigation sunflower plant (Helianthus annuus) plots, each with a dimension of 4.5×4.5 m (width×length). In the study, tap water was mixed with 20%, 80% and 100% of the CW percolate at the application rate of 7.5 mm/day. Based on a 1-year data in which 3 crops of plantation were experimented, the contents of Zn, Mn and Cu in soil of the experimental plots were found to increase with increase in CW percolate ratios. In a plot with 100% of CW percolate irrigation, the maximum Zn, Mn and Cu concentrations of 5.0, 12.3 and 2.5 mg/kg, respectively, were detected in the percolate-fed soil, whereas no accumulation of heavy metals in the plant tissues (i.e. leaves, stems and flowers) of the sunflower were detected. The highest plant biomass yield and oil content of 1000 kg/ha and 35%, respectively, were obtained from the plots fed with 20% or 50% of the CW percolate."

Water Science and Technology 2006, Vol. 54, No. 11-12, pp. 155–164

Available from: IWA Publishing

Highlights of the NCCR North-South Program in Southeast Asia, 2005-2009

Thammarat Koottatep, Antoine Morel, Chongrak Polprasert, Roland Schertenleib, 2009

Highlights of the work conducted over the past four years in Southeast Asia are the focus of a brochure just out. The brochure - Research Partnerships for Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia - was published by the NCCR North-South team based in Bangkok.

Download pdf

Lessons learnt from seven years of operation

Thammarat Koottatep, Udo Heinss, A. S. M. Kamal, Doulaye Kone, Agnes Montangero, Chongrak Polprasert, Martin Strauss, Narong Surinkul, 2005

In tropical regions, where most of the developing countries are located, septic tanks and other onsite sanitation systems are the predominant form of storage and pre-treatment of excreta and wastewater, generating septage and other types of sludges. The septage is disposed of untreated, mainly due to lack of affordable treatment options. This study presents lessons that have been learned from the operation of pilot-scale constructed wetlands (CWs) for septage treatment since 1997. The experiments have been conducted by using three CW units planted with narrow-leave cattails (Typha augustifolia) and operating in a vertical-flow mode. Based on the experimental results, it can be suggested that the optimum solids loading rate be 250 kg TS/m2 yr and 6-day percolate impoundment. At these operational conditions, the removal efficiencies of CW units treating septage at the range of 80–96% for COD, TS and TKN were achieved. The biosolid accumulated on the CW units to a depth of 80 cm has never been removed during 7 years of operation, but bed permeability remained unimpaired. The biosolid contains viable helminth eggs below critical limit of sludge quality standards for agricultural use. Subject to local conditions, the suggested operational criteria should be reassessed at the full-scale implementation. Keywords Nutrient removal; operation; helminth eggs; septage treatment; vertical-flow constructed wetlands

Water Science and Technology 2005, Vol. 51, No. 9, pp. 119–126

Available for purchase from: IWA Publishing

Thammarat Koottatep, Antoine Morel, Atitaya Panuvatvanich, 2006

"This paper presents the outcomes of pilot-scale experiments on anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) and polishing systems for the treatment of domestic blackwater, aimed at determining the treatment performance of different integrated low-cost wastewater treatment systems, comprising one ABR as first treatment step followed by three polishing steps operated in parallel, namely an anaerobic filter an intermittent sand filter and a vertical flow constructed wetland. A mixture of septage and domestic wastewater was used as influent wastewater, resulting in influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentrations of 1,000 and 300 mg/L, respectively. The ABR system operated at a HRT of 48h could achieve average COD, suspended solids (SS) and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies of 90%, 93% and 50%, respectively. The highest treatment performances in the sand filter and constructed wetland units were reached at HLR of 7 – 10 and 6 – 10 cm/day, respectively, while HRT in the range of 3 - 4 days led to the highest treatment efficiencies in the anaerobic filter. The national effluent standards of Thailand were respected by all systems in terms of average TSS and BOD concentrations. Rather than concluding which system is the most appropriate, the paper discusses specific fields of application for the different systems."

Proceedings of the 7th Specialised Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems, 7-10 March 2006, Mexico City, Mexico

Download

La Thien Luan, 2008

Master's Thesis at Asian Institute of Technology

Download

A 4-Country Comparative Validation of the HCES Planning Approach for Environmental Sanitation

Christoph Lüthi, Petra Kohler, Antoine Morel, Elizabeth Tilley, 2009

NCCR North-South Dialogue, No. 22

Bern, NCCR North-South

PDF download:

English

An opportunity to finance decentralised composting?

Christoph Lüthi, 2005

Master's Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

Master's thesis on the current Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and its effect on promotion of sustainable environmental sanitation improvements at decentralised level. The transaction costs and risks associated with the CDM have shown to favour large centralised projects. Though many decentralised projects contribute significantly to increasing sustainable development, they cannot compete with large centralised projects on emission reductions at lowest cost. The study assesses the viability of selected case studies and suggests approaches to enhance decentralised CDM projects.

Download

D Maniseng, T. Chanthala, Antoine Morel, S. Thammanosouth, 2008

A description of steps 5 and 6 in the HCES planning approach conducted in Laos

Download

D Maniseng, T. Chanthala, Antoine Morel, S. Thammanosouth, 2008

Project report on outcomes of the HCES project step 3 in Hatdady Tai. Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Download

Barbara Matthys, Francis A. Adiko, Guéladio Cissé, Marcel Tanner, Andres Tschannen, Jürg Utzinger, Kaspar Wyss, 2006

"L'objectif de la présente étude conduite dans des zones de production maraîchère d'Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, était d'analyser les problèmes principaux des cultivateurs; leur perceptions des maladies et des risques sanitaires et la corrélation entre les risques sanitaires et le statut socio-économique des ménages ainsi que la cohésion sociale dans les communautés maraîchères. Les problèmes principaux sont l'insécurité foncière et de difficultés de commercialisation. Les préoccupations sanitaires sont la fatigue et l'insalubrité. En l'absence d'une éducation sanitaire fondée et des interventions localement adaptées, les cultivateurs n'accordent pas une attention particulière à la prévention des risques sanitaires. Le support technique, en concordance avec l'éducation et la communication de la prévention des risques sanitaires, promettent une augmentation de la productivité et une amélioration des moyens de subsistance des ménages cultivateurs à Abidjan."

VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement 2006, hors série 3, Article 8

Download PDF from: VertigO

Barbara Matthys, 2006

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

For further information please contact the author

Barbara Matthys, Guéladio Cissé, Moussa Koné, Benjamin G. Koudou, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Marcel Tanner, Andres Tschannen, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, 2006

"Urban agriculture is common across Africa and contributes to the livelihoods of urban dwellers. Some crop systems create suitable mosquito breeding sites and thus might affect malaria transmission. The purpose of this study was to identify, map, and characterize potential mosquito breeding sites in agricultural land use zones in a medium-sized town of western Côte d’Ivoire and to assess risk factors for productive Anopheles breeding sites. Two surveys were carried out; one toward the end of the rainy season and the second one during the dry season. [...] The highest Anopheles larval productivity was observed in rice paddies, agricultural trenches between vegetable patches, and irrigation wells. An indirect link could be established between the occurrence of productive Anopheles breeding sites and agricultural land use through specific man-made habitats, in particular agricultural trenches, irrigation wells, and rice paddies. Our findings have important bearings for the epidemiology and control of urban malaria in sub-Saharan Africa."

Journal of Vector Ecology 2006, 31 (2), pp. 319-333

Download from: Journal of Vector Ecology

Barbara Matthys, Guéladio Cissé, Emmanuel Gbede Becket, Laura Gosoniu, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Giovanna Raso, Marcel Tanner, Andres Tschannen, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, 2006

"Urbanization occurs at a rapid pace across Africa and Asia and affects people’s health and well-being. A typical feature in urban settings of Africa is the maintenance of traditional livelihoods, including agriculture. The purpose of this study was to investigate malaria risk factors in urban farming communities in a medium-sized town in Côte d’Ivoire. Two cross-sectional surveys were carried out among 112 households from six agricultural zones. [...] Our findings indicate that specific crop systems and specific agricultural practices may increase the risk of malaria in urban settings of tropical Africa."

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2006, 75(6), pp. 1223-1231

Available for purchase from: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

A Stakeholder Perspectives on Measures at the Source

Edi Medilanski, Liang Chuan, Tove Larsen, Hans-Joachim Mosler, Roland Schertenleib, 2006

"Large sewer systems with central wastewater treatment plants were long considered a successful model that could be exported to practically any city of the world. This centralized, highly water-consuming system has, however,
shown its limits in some developing and transition countries, especially in fastgrowing cities with limited water resources. This study from around Lake Dianchi in Yunnan, China, investigated the feasibility of introducing measures at the source for the different urban wastewater contributions in the city of Kunming, and the stakeholder perspectives on this approach. In addition, the stakeholders evaluated the potential of two different sanitation alternatives that allowed the separation and re-use of human excreta as fertilizer."

Environment and Urbanization 2006, Vol 18, No. 2, pp. 353–368

Download

Risk Mapping in Tajikistan

Anette Michel, 2005

Master's Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

In this study, patterns of malaria distribution in Tajikistan were assessed with existing malaria incidence data from passive reporting systems. Spatial and seasonal distribution of malaria incidence was presented in a GIS, and the influence of main environmental factors was analysed. Results from analysing the correlation between monthly means of daily average temperature and malaria incidence imply that low temperatures limit malaria transmission seasonally and spatially in Tajikistan. Temperature appears to be the main driving factor for the seasonality of malaria transmission in the country. Three categories of risk zones were characterised and used to derive recommendations regarding geographical priorities in malaria control activities.

PDF download:

English

R. Mindekem, U. Kayali, Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, N Yemadji, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

Revue de Médecine Tropicale 65(1):53-58.

A promising method in the context of developing countries

Agnes Montangero, Hasan Belevi, 2007

"Simple models based on the physical and biochemical processes occurring in septic tanks, pit and urine diversion latrines were developed to determine the nutrient flows in these systems. Nitrogen and phosphorus separation in different output materials from these on-site sanitation installations were thus determined. Moreover, nutrient separation in septic tanks was also assessed through literature values and by eliciting expert judgement. Use of formal expert elicitation technique proved to be effective, particularly in the context of developing countries where data is often scarce but expert judgement readily available. In Vietnam, only 5–14% and 11–27% of the nitrogen and phosphorus input, respectively, are removed from septic tanks with the faecal sludge. The remaining fraction leaves the tank via the liquid effluent. Unlike septic tanks, urine diversion latrines allow to immobilise most of the nutrients either in form of stored urine or dehydrated faecal matter. These latrines thus contribute to reducing the nutrient load in the environment and lowering consumption of energy and non-renewable resources for fertiliser production."

Water Research 2007, Volume 41, Number 5, pp. 1052-1064

Available from: ScienceDirect

Agnes Montangero, Hasan Belevi, TKN Thai , 2005

This paper illustrates how the method of Material Flow Analysis (MFA) can be applied to assess measures aiming at optimizing nitrogen recovery through improved excreta management in Viet Tri, Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the application of MFA could be rendered more affordable for planners and decision-makers in developing countries confronted with poor data availability and quality.

SANDEC News 6

Download

An approach to assess material flow with imited data availability

Agnes Montangero, 2006

PhD Thesis, Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck, Austria

For further information please contact the author

Antoine Morel, Stefan Diener, 2006

Dübendorf, EAWAG

PDF download:

English

Hans-Joachim Mosler, Tamara Cabellero Rodriguez, Silke Drescher, Miranda Guzman, Christian Zurbruegg, 2006

Rapid urbanisation, population growth and changes in lifestyles in low- and middle-income countries contribute to increasing the per capita domestic waste generation. This trend leads to deplorable environmental and public health conditions, especially in rapidly expanding cities of low- and middle-income countries lacking appropriate waste management systems, Santiago de Cuba is no exception. To improve solid waste management in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the generation of household waste was studied and individual waste treatment approaches were assessed.
The paper contains the results of the composition and distribution of the waste generated by the households as a function of socio-demographic data. Furthermore, the paper describes the various household treatment strategies dependent on specific waste material types.

Habitat International 2006, Volume 30, Issue 4, pp. 849-862

Available online from: Science Direct

B Müller, Bassirou Bonfoh, A. Fané, NH Smith, B Steiner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2008

Two groups of M. bovis were detected in cattle slaughtered at the Bamako abattoir. The spoligotype pattern of the first group has similarities to strains previously observed in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria. The additional absence of spacer 6 in the majority of these strains suggests a Mali specific clone. The spoligotype patterns of the remaining strains suggest that they may have been of European origin.

BMC Veterinary Research 4:26.

Download

Conceptions of illness and the health system of Tamasheq nomads in Mali

Anna Münch, 2007

PhD Thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland

For further information please contact the author

Pre-conference Proceedings. University of Bern, Switzerland, 2–4 July 2008

NCCR North-South, 2008

NCCR North-South Dialogue, No. 21

El Hadji Mamadou Ndiaye, Jerome Chenal, Yves Pedrazzini, Cheikh Samba Wade, 2009

In: Chenal J, Pedrazzini Y, Cissé G, Kaufmann V, éditeurs. Quelques rues d?Afrique. Observation et gestion de l?espace public à Abidjan, Dakar et Nouakchott. Lausanne : Les éditions du Lasur, pp 81-92.

For more information, click here

Ndiogou Ndong, 2004

Master's Thesis, Ecole Inter-Etats d’Ingénieurs de l’Equipement Rural de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

"Cette étude a été faite dans le cadre du Projet d’Appui aux Collectivités Locales (PACOL) du Centre Régional pour l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement (CREPA) dans la commune de Fatick au Sénégal. Elle propose des éléments d’ordre organisationnel et technique contribuant à la mise en place de stratégies pour une amélioration de la gestion des ordures ménagères dans la Commune. [...]"

Download

Hung Nguyen-Viet, Nadine Bernard, Marina Vladimirovna Frontasyeva, Daniel Gilbert, Thu My Trinh Thi, 2009

The paper studied the metal atmospheric deposition in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen (Vietnam) using the technique of moss monitoring and combining 2 analytical analyses Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA).

Available from: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. DOI 10.1007/s11356-009-0258-6

Étude des facteurs sociaux et culturels de risques de vulnérabilité des adolescents au VIH/SIDA

Abdias Laoubaou Nodjiadim, 2006

Master's Thesis, Université Marc Bloch de Strasbourg II, Strasbourg, France

"Notre étude tente de comprendre les comportements, pratiques et attitudes des jeunes dans deux établissements scolaires au Tchad vis à vis de la sexualité et du VIH/SIDA et répond aux objectifs suivants :
• Analyser les perceptions, attitudes et pratiques que les jeunes en milieu scolaire ont de la sexualité et des facteurs de risques d’infection à VIH ;
• Identifier les comportements à risques chez les adolescents en milieu scolaire et les problèmes de santé sexuelle auxquels ils sont confrontés ;
• Déterminer leur dynamique relationnelle en matière d’engagement pour un changement de comportement."

Download

A Framework for Analysis and Action

Brigit Obrist, Sandra Alba, Angel Dillip, Manuel W. Hetzel, Nelly Iteba, Christian Lengeler, Ahmed Makemba, Iddy Mayumana, Christopher Mshana, Hassan Mshinda, Rose Nathan, Alexander Schulze, 2007

Access to health care is a major health and development issue. Most governments declare that their citizens should enjoy universal and equitable access to good quality care. However, even within the developed world, this goal is difficult to achieve, and there are no internationally recognized standards on how to define and measure “equitable access”.
This article presents a framework for analysis and action to explore and improve access to health care in resource-poor countries, especially in Africa. The framework links social science and public health research with broader development approaches to poverty alleviation.

PLoS Medicine 4(10):1584-1588.

Download

Issues and prospects

Brigit Obrist, Trudy Harpham, Marcel Tanner, 2003

"Urbanisation remains a challenge in the new millennium and will continue to have important implications for human health. This leads to lively debates in the field of international health, but with minimal engagement of anthropology. To stimulate active involvement, our paper highlights main issues addressed in this special issue and maps directions for future research. Our collection of papers addresses hot topics in urban health research, ranging from everyday health practice to mental health, chronic and degenerative illness, old age and social safety networks, and examines them from a complementary, anthropological perspective. Most priority concerns refer to four core issues commonly considered as characteris tics of urban life, namely, levels of environmental hazards, commodification, social fragmen tation and health service provision. We thus advocate for fresh perspectives, moving from a medical anthropology to a health anthropology, and from risk approaches to frameworks centring on affliction, vulnerability and resilience. Future research should concentrate on comparisons and longitudinal design to sharpen key distinctions, e.g. between rural, peri-urban and urban, use dynamics, diversity and complexity as analytical frameworks and investigate emerging issues like trust and care. With an active engagement in and commitment to urban health research, anthropology can enhance conceptual clarity and contribute to locally relevant public health actions."

Anthropology & Medicine 2003, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 361-371

Available from: informaworld

60 Jahre Erfahrung am Schweizerischen Tropeninstitut

Brigit Obrist, Marcel Tanner, 2004

REGIO BASILIENSIS 45.2:139-147

Brigit Obrist, Peter Van Eeuwijk, Mitchell G. Weiss, 2003

"We live in a rapidly urbanising world. According to the 2001 statistics of the United Nations, the proportion of urban dwellers rose from 30% in 1950 to 47% in 2000 and will probably attain 60% in 2030. Almost 70% of these urban dwellers live in cities of developing regions. At the current rates of urbanisation, the number of city dwellers in the world will equal that of their rural counterparts by 2007. In the late 1980s, researchers became increasingly concerned about the combined impact of rapid urban growth and economic recession on the health of a majority of people in African and Asian cities. Several books established urban health research with a focus on developing countries as a multidisciplinary field of inquiry (Harpham et al., 1988; Salem & Jeannée, 1989). It is now widely recognised that urbanisation per se is not necessarily bad for health, but it becomes so if urban governments fail to establish and support necessary infrastructure and services to protect citizens from environmental hazards and from social, economic and political insecurity."

Anthropology & Medicine 2003, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 267-274

Available from: informaworld

Brigit Obrist, Guéladio Cissé, Kouassi Dongo, Stefanie Granado, Brama Koné, Marcel Tanner, 2006

Current debates about slums centre on the growing inequality brought about by economic globalisation. Within this context, slums are typically viewed as bounded units within the city emphasising differentiation with other neighbourhoods. This paper questions whether a focus exclusively on slums is useful for the examination of the provision of water, sanitation and health in African cities and suggests a complementary perspective emphasising urban interconnectedness. Using a comparative case study approach, it examines responses to environmental conditions in urban as well as rural contexts along drainage channels in Abidjan, West Africa. The paper traces linkages on various and partly interrelated analytical levels: spatial, material, social, political, local, national and international. Such an analysis of multi-level dynamics between stakeholders contributes to a better understanding of slums as a phenomenon of urbanisation.

The European Journal of Development Research 2006, Vol. 18, Issue 2, pp 319-336

Download

Brigit Obrist, W Bruchhausen, H Dilger, 2005

CURARE

Health, hygiene and water in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Brigit Obrist, 2004

"Inspired by Foucault, many studies have examined the medicalization of everyday life in Western societies. This paper reconsiders potentials and limitations of this concept in an African city. Grounded in ethnographic research in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, it concentrates on cleanliness, health and water in a lower middle-class neighbourhood. The findings show that women are familiar with professional health development discourses emphasizing cleanliness as a high value linked to bodily and domestic health. These discourses have been diffused in schools, clinics and other institutions during the colonial and socialist period. Women not only refer to these discourses, they try to reproduce them in daily practice and even demand them. This coercive yet voluntary nature of institutionalized discourses points to 'paradoxes of medicalization' also found in Western societies. It acquires, however, different meanings in a weak state like contemporary Tanzania which hardly manages to institutionalize medicalization through professional practice. Under such conditions, women who choose to follow health development discourses suffer a heavier practical, intellectual and emotional burden than those who are less committed. This may at least partly explain why many women assume a pragmatic stance towards the medicalization of everyday life."

Anthropology & Medicine 2004, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 43-57

Available for purchase from: Informaworld

Brigit Obrist, 2002

«Gesundheit» ist ein Zauberwort der Moderne. Es ist ein positives Konzept, das wir mit vielen Bereichen des alltäglichen Lebens in Beziehung setzen, von Umwelt über Ernährung bis hin zu Arbeit , Freizeit und sozialen Beziehungen. Was bedeutet «Gesundheit» jedoch für Menschen, die in einer ganz anderen Umgebung leben, nämlich einer schnell wachsenden afrikanischen Stadt?

Tsantsa 2002, 7: 66-76

Download

An anthropological inquiry of health, vulnerability and resilience in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Brigit Obrist, 2006

Bern, Peter Lang Publishing Group

PDF download:

English
Table of Contents available for download

Livelihood, vulnerability and resilience in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Brigit Obrist, 2003

"Health is the core value and ultimate goal of health development, yet we know very little about health conceptions in everyday life. Inspired by investigations into lay health concepts in Europe, our study explores experiences and meanings of health in a strikingly different context, namely, in a low-income neighbourhood of an African city. Grounded in ethnographic research in Dar es Salaam, we introduce the concept of 'health practice' and examine health definitions, explanations, and activities of urban Swahili women. Our findings show that representations of health form a set of experiences, meanings and embodied practice centring on the links between body, mind, and living conditions. We suggest that 'livelihood', 'vulnerability' and 'resilience' best capture women's main concerns of health practice in such a setting. All women face an emotional burden of being exposed to urban afflictions and an intellectual and practical burden of overcoming them, but some meet this challenge more successfully than others do. This approach tips the balance towards a positive view of health that has been neglected in medical anthropology. It also opens new lines of inquiry in urban health research by consequently following a resource orientation that acknowledges women's struggle to stay healthy and directs attention to their agency."

Anthropology & Medicine 2003, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 275-290

Available from: informaworld

Nadjitolnan Othnigué, Blaise Genton, Marcel Tanner, Kaspar Wyss, 2006

The objective of this study was to assess malaria prevalence rates and seasonal patterns among clinically diagnosed malaria cases at the level of primary care facilities in an urban Sahelian setting.
Clinical diagnosis of malaria has a very low positive predicted value in this low endemicity urban setting, and its low specificity leads to inappropriate care for a large proportion of patients. This has a major impact on economic costs for health services and households. In the Sahel, systematic use of microscopy-based diagnosis and/or rapid diagnostic tests should be considered to appropriately manage malaria and non-malaria cases.

Tropical Medicine & International Health 2006, Vol. 11, Issue 2, page 204

Available for purchase from: Blackwell Synergy

Regard sur la lutte contre la maladie chez des populations défavorisées en milieu périurbain de Nouakchott (Mauritanie)

Moustapha Ould Taleb, Guéladio Cissé, Séraphin Essane, Baïdy Lô, Brigit Obrist, Esther Schelling, Kaspar Wyss, Jakob Zinsstag, 2006

"Ce travail porte sur la perception des déterminants de la vulnérabilité à la maladie et la gestion des problèmes de santé qui surviennent dans les ménages au niveau des populations d'origine nomade en milieu urbain défavorisé à Nouakchott. La méthodologie utilisée est qualitative basée sur des entretiens approfondis et l'observation participante. La perception de la santé est largement rapportée à la mauvaise qualité de l'habitat et au manque de moyens financiers pour l'accès aux services de santé. Les maladies les plus citées sont le paludisme, les problèmes gastriques et les maladies pédiatriques. Les épisodes de maladie sont gérés grâce à l'appui du réseau familial ou tribal qui se manifeste à travers la ''loha'', la solidarité du groupe de parenté. Il y a un besoin de stratégies de développement adaptées pour assurer l'intégration de ces populations spécifiques dans le tissu urbain à travers (1) l'implantation de services sociaux d'éducation et de santé, (2) le financement de microprojets pour combattre le chômage et (3) l'appui en formation pour les coopératives."

VertigO - la revue électronique en sciences de l'environnement 2006, hors série 3, Article 4

Download PDF from: VertigO

Supapan Petchrat, 2006

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

"At present, Thailand does not have action plan and appropriate policy for Fecal Sludge (FS) management and lacking of data on FS collection, treatment and disposal. Nevertheless, FS management has become the responsibility of local authorities. The purpose of this study is to develop database on FS collection, treatment and disposal in three main river basins in central plain of Thailand, namely, Thachin, Chaopraya and Bangpakong."

Download

Giovanna Raso, Barbara Matthys, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Mamadou Ouattara, Kigbafori D. Silué, Marcel Tanner, Abale Toty, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, Ahoua Yapi, 2005

"Differences in the state of health between rural and urban populations living in Africa have been described, yet only few studies analysed inequities within poor rural communities. We investigated disparities in parasitic infections, perceived ill health and access to formal health services among more than 4000 schoolchildren from 57 primary schools in a rural area of western Côte d'Ivoire, as measured by their socioeconomic status. [...] Our study provides evidence for inequities among schoolchildren's parasitic infection status, perceived ill health and access to health care in a large rural part of Côte d'Ivoire. These findings call for more equity-balanced parasitic disease control interventions, which in turn might be an important strategy for poverty alleviation."

Tropical Medicine & International Health 2005, Vol. 10, Issue 1, pp. 42–57

Available from: Blackwell Synergy

Giovanna Raso, Cinthia A. Adjoua, Marc-Emmanuel Dumas, Elaine Holmes, Anne Luginbühl, Barbara Matthys, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Kigbafori D. Silué, Burton H. Singer, Marcel Tanner, Norbert T. Tian-Bi, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, Yulan Wang, 2004

"Concomitant parasitic infections are common in the developing world, yet most studies focus on a single parasite in a narrow age group. We investigated the extent of polyparasitism and parasite associations, and related these findings to self-reported morbidity. [...] Our data confirm that polyparasitism is very common in rural Côte d'Ivoire and that people have clear perceptions about the morbidity caused by some of these parasitic infections. Our findings can be used for the design and implementation of sound intervention strategies to mitigate morbidity and co-morbidity."

International Journal of Epidemiology 2004, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 1092-1102

Full text available from: Oxford Journals

Giovanna Raso, Barbara Matthys, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Marcel Tanner, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, 2005

"The objectives of this study were (1) to examine risk factors for Schistosoma mansoni infection among schoolchildren living in western Côte d'Ivoire, and (2) to carry forward spatial risk prediction and mapping at non-sampled locations [...]. Results showed that age, sex, the richest wealth quintile, elevation and rainfall explained the geographical variation of the school prevalences of S. mansoni infection. The goodness of fit of different spatial models revealed that age, sex and socio-economic status had a stronger influence on infection prevalence than environmental covariates. The generated risk map can be used by decision-makers for the design and implementation of schistosomiasis control in this setting. If successfully validated elsewhere, this approach can guide control programmes quite generally."

Parasitology 2005, Vol. 131, Issue 1, pp. 97-108

Available from: Cambridge Univeristy Press

Cornelia Rebholz, Daniel Maselli, Anette Michel, Karimov Saipphudin, Kaspar Wyss, 2006

During the Soviet era, malaria was close to eradication. However, since the early 1990s, the disease has been on the rise again. Analysis revealed high rates of malaria transmission and clearly indicates that malaria is a serious health issue in specific regions of Tajikistan.

Malaria Journal 2006, 5:51

Available online from: Malaria Journal

PDF download:

English

Case study

F. Roth, Guy Carrin, G. Chimed-Ochir, Ottorino Cosivi, G. Hutton, Dontor Orkhon, Joachim Otte, Jakob Zinsstag, 2003

"Objective: To estimate the economic benefit, cost-effectiveness, and distribution of benefit of improving human health in Mongolia through the control of brucellosis by mass vaccination of livestock. [...]
Findings: In a scenario of 52% reduction of brucellosis transmission between animals achieved by mass vaccination, a total of 49 027 DALYs could be averted. Estimated intervention costs were US$ 8.3 million, and the overall benefit was US$ 26.6 million. This results in a net present value of US$ 18.3 million and an average benefit–cost ratio for society of 3.2 (2.27–4.37). If the costs of the intervention were shared between the sectors in proportion to the benefit to each, the public health sector would contribute 11%, which gives a cost-effectiveness of US$ 19.1 per DALY averted (95% confidence interval 5.3–486.8). If private economic gain
because of improved human health was included, the health sector should contribute 42% to the intervention costs and the costeffectiveness would decrease to US$ 71.4 per DALY averted.
Conclusion: If the costs of vaccination of livestock against brucellosis were allocated to all sectors in proportion to the benefits, the intervention might be profitable and cost effective for the agricultural and health sectors."

Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003, Vol. 81, Number 12, pp. 867-876

Download PDF from: The World Health Organization

Graciela Sanguinetti, F. Ferrer, M.C. García, Doulaye Kone, Agnes Montangero, Martin Strauss, C. Tortul, 2005

"Waste stabilization ponds (WSP) are an often-used option to treat faecal sludges collected from on-site sanitation systems. Since agricultural use is one of the most attractive options for sludge disposal, specific guidelines on the hygienic sludge quality must be fulfilled, such as for viable helminth eggs and Salmonella sp. Although Salmonella isolation methods are well known for other types of samples, they are not suitable for faecal sludge. The reason can be attributed to the co-existence of a native bacterial sludge flora masking Salmonella development, especially if this bacteria is present at low concentrations. [...]"

Water Science & Technology 2005, Volume 51, Number 12, pp. 249-252

Available for purchase from: IWA Publishing

Monika Schaffner, Ruth Scheidegger, Irene Wittmer, 2006

"Mit zunehmender landwirtschaftlicher Intensivierung hat sich die Wasserqualität des Tha Chin in Thailand massiv verschlechtert. Ein enormes Problem ist der hohe Nährstoffgehalt des Flusses. Unser Stoffflussmodell zeigt, dass ein Grossteil der Nährstoffe aus der intensiven Fischzucht stammt."

Eawag News 62d December 2006, pp. 18-20.

Download

A Case-Study in the Thachin River Basin, Central Thailand

Monika Schaffner, 2007

PhD Thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland

[...] With the current research, a Mathematical Material Flow Analysis (MMFA) is applied as an alternative approach to conventional river water quality models. Applied to analyze river water polllution, the MMFA allows to trace the pollution flows and their transformations from their input to the system as resource, through waste production, separation, treatment and finally to their outputs as product or as discharge into receiving water bodies. In this way, the perspective is widened to grasp the river system in an overview and to understand the origins and the main processes involved in the chain of nutrient pollution generation. The key parameters influencing the pollution flows are determined, based on which concrete and effective mitigation measures can be devised and evaluated. [...]

PDF download:

English

A case study in the Tha Chin river catchment, Thailand

Monika Schaffner, Hans-Peter Bader, Thammarat Koottatep, Agnes Montangero, Ruth Scheidegger, Roland Schertenleib, 2005

"Material flow analysis (MFA) is a promising tool for river water quality management. Based on orders-ofmagnitude estimations, the approach provides an overview of pollution problems and their dimensions in a river system, allowing to identify key sources and pathways of pollution, and to evaluate mitigation priorities. The current study aims at investigating MFA to assess river water quality problems and mitigation measures in developing countries, based on a case-study carried out in the Tha Chin River Basin (TRB), Thailand."

Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Role of Water Sciences in Transboundary River Basin Management, Ubon Ratchathani (Thailand), 10-12 March 2005

Download PDF from: MekongBasinResearchNetwork

A Tool for River Water Pollution Control

Monika Schaffner, Ruth Scheidegger, 2007

The Material Flow Analysis (MFA) model provides an overview of the main nutrient flows in the Tha Chin River Basin, Central Thailand. Instead of extensive measuring campaigns, local
data is integrated into the model to quantify these flows and find suitable remediation measures.

Download (1 MB)

Monika Schaffner, Ruth Scheidegger, Irene Wittmer, 2007

"Increasingly intensive farming practices have led to a dramatic deterioration of water quality in the Tha Chin River in Thailand. One major problem is the high level of nutrients. According to our model – based on material flow analysis – intensive aquaculture accounts for a large
proportion of the nutrient inputs."

Eawag News 62d: 18-20.

Download

Esther Schelling, P. Boerlin, Saada Daoud, Colette Diguimbaye, J. Nicolet, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2003

"As a part of a research-and-action partnership between public health and veterinary medicine, the relationships between the seroprevalences of brucellosis and Q-fever in humans and livestock were evaluated in three nomadic communities of Chad (Fulani cattle breeders, and Arab camel and cattle breeders). Nomad camps were visited between April 1999 and April 2000. A total of 860 human and 1637 animal sera were tested for antibodies against Brucella spp., and 368 human and 613 animal sera for Coxiella burnetii. The same indirect ELISA was used for livestock and human sera, and the test characteristics for its use on human sera were evaluated. Twenty-eight people were seropositive for brucellosis (seroprevalence 3.8%). Brucella seroprevalence was higher in cattle (7%) than other livestock, and brucellosis seropositivity was a significant factor for abortion in cattle (OR=2.8). No correlation was found between human brucellosis serostatus and camp proportions of seropositive animals. [...]"

Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2003, Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 279-293

Available from: ScienceDirect

Esther Schelling, Franca Baggi, Colette Diguimbaye, Markus Hilty, Richard Ngandolo, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

"The first laboratory to culture mycobacteria was established in Chad to confirm the presence of bovine tuberculosis and to describe the distribution of M. tuberculosis complex strains in livestock and humans. Specimens were collected on condemned animal carcasses due to tuberculosis. Spoligotyping and analysis of Variable Numbers Tandem Repeats (VNTRs) have been used on 67 M. bovis strains. The prevalence of tuberculosis-like lesions at the slaughterhouse was 7.3%. More M’bororo than Arab zebus were condemned (p = 0.04), M’bororo carcasses were more often entirely condemned in comparison to a partial condemnation (p ≤ 0.001) and M. bovis was more often isolated from Mbororo carcasses than from Arab zebu (p = 0.004). [...]"

"Le premier laboratoire de culture des mycobactéries a été établi au Tchad pour confirmer la présence de la tuberculose bovine chez le bétail et pour évaluer la répartition des souches du complexe Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Les prélèvements ont été réalisés sur des carcasses d’animaux saisis pour cause de tuberculose. Le typage moléculaie par spoligotypie et le typage des VNTR (séquences répétées en nombre variable) ont été réalisés avec 67 souches M. bovis du Tchad. La prévalence de lésions tuberculeuses à l’abattoir était de 7,3%. Davantage de carcasse de zébus M’bororos ont été saisies par rapport aux zébus Arabes (p = 0,04); une saisie totale en comparaison à une saisie partielle a été plus souvent effectuée chez les Mbororos (p ≤ 0,001) et M. bovis a été plus fréquemment isolé chez les zébus Mbororos que chez les Arabes (p = 0,004). [...]"

Épidémiologie et Santé Animale 2005, No. 48, pp. 81-91

Available for download from: L'Association pour l'Étude de l'Épidémiologie des Maladies Animales

Zoonoses, Morbitity and Health Services

Esther Schelling, 2002

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

The health of nomadic pastoralists is influenced by factors specific to their way of life. Veterinary services provide vaccination against feared livestock diseases such as anthrax. Agents transmissible between livestock and humans (zoonotic agents) may have an important impact on the health status of pastoralists because they live in close contact to their animals. However, morbidity of nomadic pastoralists in Chad had not been documented and their everyday use of health services was virtually unknown. A research collaboration between veterinary and public health was implemented to evaluate morbidity of nomadic pastoralists and of their animals simultaneously and to test intersectoral pilot-interventions following the concept of “one medicine”.

PDF download:

English

Esther Schelling, Saada Daoud, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, P. Diallo, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

"As a part of an interdisciplinary research and action programme, morbidity and nutritional patterns were assessed in three nomadic communities: Fulani and Arab cattle breeders and Arab camel breeders, of two prefectures in Chad. The predominant morbidity pattern of Chadian nomadic pastoralists (representing approximately 10% of the total population of the country) had not been documented so far. A total of 1092 women, men and children was examined by a physician and interviewed during two surveys in the dry season and one in the wet season (1999–2000). Participants with no complaint were rare. Pulmonary disorders (e.g. bronchitis) were most often diagnosed for children under 5 years of age. Of the adult participants, 4.6% were suspected of tuberculosis. Febrile diarrhoea occurred more often during the wet season when access to clean drinking water was precarious. Malaria was only rarely clinically diagnosed among Arabs during the dry season, whereas Fulani, who stayed in the vicinity of Lake Chad, were also affected during this period. A 24-h dietary recall showed that less Arab women than men consumed milk during the dry season (66% versus 92%). [...]"

Acta Tropica 2005, Volume 95, Issue 1, pp. 16-25

Available from: ScienceDirect

Esther Schelling, Mahamat Béchir, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Kaspar Wyss, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

This article argues that the collaboration between public health and veterinary services could increase coverage of essential health interventions for people and livestock in remote rural areas.

British Medical Journal BMJ 2005, No. 331, pp. 1264-1267

Download from: British Medical Journal BMJ

Roland Schertenleib, Hasan Belevi, Dionys Forster, 2004

"Environmental sanitation comprises disposal and treatment of human excreta, solid waste and wastewater, control of disease vectors, and provision of washing facilities for personal and domestic hygiene. The conventional approach to environmental sanitation is characterised by a linear waste management system, where valuable plant nutrients are often not only wasted, but also create pollution problems in receiving waters. Closing the nutrient loop is one of the main objectives of a more ecological approach to environmental sanitation. Reuse of wastewater and organic waste in urban agriculture may contribute to closing this nutrient loop. In addition to food security and income generation, urban agricultural activities can thus help to improve public health and resource management. However, some urban agricultural processes, such as “agricultural practices”, “soil quality management” and “irrigation”, still requires further research."

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 2004, No. 643: International Conference on Urban Horticulture

Available from: ISHS Acta Horticulturae

Roland Schertenleib, 2005

"The basic concept of collecting domestic liquid waste in water-borne sewer systems goes back more than 100 years and became in the last century the conventional approach to sanitation in urban areas. Over the years, these sewage disposal systems had to be successively upgraded by additional sewage treatment plants increasing investment, operating and maintenance costs. Although these conventional sanitation systems could improve significantly the public health situation in those countries who could afford to install and operate them, it is highly questionable, if they are economically and ecologically sustainable. The large number of people in the developing world who still do not have access to adequate sanitation is a clear indication that the conventional approach to sanitation is not adapted to the socio-economic condition prevailing in most countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Advanced environmental sanitation is aiming not only to protect public health and the integrity of aquatic ecosystems but also to conserve precious freshwater and non-renewable resources. The Bellagio Principles and the Household Centred Environmental Sanitation Approach (HCES) are suggested as guiding principles and a new approach for planing and designing advanced (sustainable) environmental sanitation systems."

Water Science & Technology 2005, Vol. 51, No. 10, pp. 7–14

Available from: IWA Publishing Online

Stakeholder am Tha Chin, Thailand

Ursula Schnellmann, 2006

Master's Thesis, University of Zurich, Switzerland

The MSc thesis describes the factors influencing the preferences of different scenarios for the Tha Chin River in Thailand developed with Material Flux Analysis. The results show that the scenario views, the subjective social norms, the benefit aspects as well as the internal responsibility attribution are predictors of the intent of stakeholders to support specific scenarios for improvement of water quality.

Download

A geostatistical modelling approach

Kigbafori D. Silué, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Giovanna Raso, Marcel Tanner, Jürg Utzinger, Penelope Vounatsou, Ahoua Yapi, 2008

Download

A case study in Pakkret, Thailand

Thitiphon Sinsupan, 2004

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

This thesis describes problems as well as potential solutions in the field of environmental sanitation based on the analysis of nitrogen flows in the city of Pakkret, Thailand.

Download

Martin Soland, 2006

Master's Thesis, University of Zurich, Switzerland

The MSc thesis describes a model that was developed to accuratly predict the waste segregation behaviour of individuals in Santiago de Cuba, allowing specific target oriented intervention actions to promote social responsible waste segregation practices.

Download

P. Steinmann, Bassirou Bonfoh, O. Péter, Esther Schelling, M. Traoré, Jakob Zinsstag, 2005

Tropical Medecine and International Health 10(6):612-617.

In: Tropical Medicine & International Health

Anja Studer, 2004

Master's Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance and the geographical distribution of Buruli ulcer in Cameroon on the national level: using a rapid assessment procedure, areas at risk were identified and environmental characteristics of these areas analysed.

PDF download:

English
Summary

Aung Kyaw Swar, 2006

Master's Thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

This study attempted to determine the health risks from the organic waste management practices in Tha Klong municipality, Pathumthani province, Thailand.

Download

Enjeux sanitaires et pratiques urbaines.

I Sy, 2006

PhD Thesis

Saykham Thammanosouth, T. Chanthala, M. Duannouluck, Antoine Morel, 2008

The paper aims at introducing the HCES planning approach and its underpinning principles, and illustrates the strengths and limitations of its application in Ban Hatsady Tai.

Download

Aspects épidémiologiques et cliniques à propos de 250 cas recensés de janvier 1994 à juillet 2000

I. Tiembré, B. V. J. Benié, N. S. Dagnan, K. D. Ekra, N.M. Koffi, K. Koffi, Atioumouna Kone, K. O. N'guetta, J. Tagliante-Saracino, P. Zengbé, 2006

"Notre étude réalisée au dispensaire antivénérien (DAV) de l’Institut National d’Hygiène Publique d’Abidjan avait pour objectif d’étudier les cas d’herpès génital reçus et pris en charge dans ce service de janvier 1994 à juillet 2000. Nous avons retrouvé 250 cas d’herpès génital sur un total de 18 069 consultants soit une prévalence globale de 1,4 %. Les patients présentant l’herpès génital étaient en majorité des hommes (91 %); Célibataires dans (70 %) dont l’age était compris entre 20 et 39 ans (88 %) et exerçant un métier dans 63,70 % des cas. Les principaux sièges des lésions étaient le sillon balano-prépucial chez l’homme (64 %) et chez la femme au niveau des grandes lèvres (71 %). 62 % des patients avaient consulté pour primo-infection contre 38 % de récurrence (2 à 4 chez le même patient). L’association herpès génital avec les autres Infections Sexuellement Transmissibles a été retrouvée. Il ressort de cette étude que l’herpès génital occupe une place non négligeable dans les consultations au dispensaire antivénérien de l’Institut National d’Hygiène Publique, et l’évolution est marquée par plusieurs récurrences chez le même malade."

Médecine d’Afrique Noire 2006, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 79-82

Hard copy available from: Médecine d'Afrique Noire

PDF Download

Valérie Tsama Njitat, 2006

Master's Thesis, Université de Yaoundé, Cameroun

The main macrophytes that are used in constructed wetlands for treating faecal sludge or waste water in Europe and Asia are Typha spp. and Phragmites spp. Asia. These plants are absent in Cameroon. This study was designed to study the conditions of acclimatization of two indigenous species in Cameroon (Cyperus papyrus L. and Echinochoa pyramidalis (Lam.) Hitchc. & Chase cultivated in vertical flow constructed wetlands system fed with rough faecal sludge.

Download

Andres Tschannen, Guéladio Cissé, O. Girardin, Eliézer K. N'Goran, Marcel Tanner, Jürg Utzinger, 2005

Bulletin Medicus Mundi Schweiz 98: 42-45.

In: Tropical Medicine & International Health

Bishnu Raj Upreti, 2007

Readings on Governance and Development 8: 18-25.

Download

Challenges and a way forward

Jürg Utzinger, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Yemadji N’Diékhor , Burton H. Singer, Marcel Tanner, Kaspar Wyss, 2004

"Health impact assessment (HIA) of projects, programmes and policies is increasingly recognized as a powerful methodology for mitigating negative health impacts and enhancing equitable and sustainable development, yet applications in the developing world are sparse. Here, we focus on a large infrastructure development in sub-Saharan Africa, namely the Chad–Cameroon petroleum development and pipeline project. We adapted a five-step process for HIA, consisting of (1) screening of project documents, (2) profiling of affected communities, (3) identifying priority health areas, predicting potential impacts, and proposing mitigation measures, (4) implementing interventions, and (5) monitoring and evaluation of health impacts. [...]"

Environmental Impact Assessment Review 2004, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 63-93

Available from: ScienceDirect

Claus Walcher, 2007

"This thesis lays the focus on the hydrological patterns in the Tha Chin River Basin in Thailand. The study shall contribute to understanding the hydrological system of the Tha Chin River, as a contribution for a Material Flow Analysis (MFA). Existing hydrological data sets are analyzed and complemented by own measured discharge data, in order to quantify the discharge and the water balance of the Tha Chin River. In addition, strategies governing the regulations of canal and main river discharges are explained."

Master's Thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland

Download

Integration of biometric fingerprint identification into a geographical information system

Daniel Weibel, M.A. Abdoulaye, Bassirou Bonfoh, Jan Hattendorf, Toguina Madjiade, Esther Schelling, Jürg Utzinger, Jakob Zinsstag, 2008

Geospatial Health 3(1):113-124

Download

James A. G. Whitworth, Samson Kinyanjui, Gilbert Kokwaro, Nelson Sewankambo, Valerie A. Snewin, Marcel Tanner, Mark Walport, 2008

Lancet 372:1590-1593

Download

A material flow analysis

Irene Wittmer, 2005

Master's Thesis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland

"The Tha Chin River Basin (central Thailand) faces major water quality problems. Among others, freshwater aquaculture was identified to be one of the pollution sources. This study looks at nutrient loads coming from freshwater aquaculture systems in the area. A model based on a material flow analysis was set up to quantify the loads to canals and rivers as well as to identify the key factors (parameters) that influence the system. The focus was placed on four different major cultivation systems. For all four considered systems, the amount of feed and nutrient concentrations in feed have the highest influence on the nutrient loads to the canal. [...]"

Download

Monica Wymann, 2005

PhD Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland

For further information please contact the author

Kaspar Wyss, 2004

Human Resources for Health 2:11.

Des enseignements à partir des activités de recherche et d’action en milieu nomade au Tchad

Kaspar Wyss, Mahamat Béchir, Esther Schelling, Marcel Tanner, Jakob Zinsstag, 2003

In: Schneider J, Roost Vischer L, Péclard P. editors. 2003.Werkschau Afrikastudien 4 - Le forum suisse des africanistes 4, Schweizerische Afrikastudien - Etudes africaines suisses. Münster, LIT Verlag, pp. 151-167

Order from: LIT Verlag

The case of Chad, Central Africa

Kaspar Wyss, Bart Callewaer, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, 2003

"This analysis of constraints to scaling-up health-related interventions in Chad shows that emphasis has to be put on systemic approaches which address absorptive capacity, on removal of structural constraints, and on efficient and equitable production of health services. In the production of services the development of infrastructure must not exceed the development of human resources. If the millennium development goals are to be achieved, major investments in basic and in-service training and in management skills are crucially needed. In addition, the study shows the importance of promoting health services which actively seek to fulfil community demands and those of disadvantaged groups."

Journal of International Development 2003, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 87-100

Available from: Wiley InterScience

Kaspar Wyss, 2005

Massive shortages of qualified health workers are recognised by the Chad authorities to be a primary "bottleneck" for the development of the health sector. This paper shortly reviews policies implemented which prioritise human resource development and concludes that more choherent policies are needed, particularly to improve motivation and retention.

id21 insights health # 7: Responding to the health workforce crisis.

Download

Kaspar Wyss, J Costa, 2005

Report established by the Swiss Tropical Institute on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health, Basel, 15 pages

Apprentissages des activités de recherche et d’action au Tchad

Kaspar Wyss, Mahamat Béchir, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Esther Schelling, Jakob Zinsstag, 2004

"To overcome barriers of access to health care of nomadic people and to alleviate inequities in health, a transdisciplinary team has initiated research and intervention activities among three nomadic groups of Chad: Foulbé, Arabes and Gouranes. A regular and consistent communication among all actors involved (nomadic groups, researchers, planners and administrators of health and veterinary services, etc.) through repetitive meetings and workshops showed to be a crucial element for success. Differences between ethnic nomadic groups made it necessary to develop specific communication strategies adapted to each group. As to interventions to improve the vaccination coverage, mixed teams combining health and veterinary specialists were able to vaccinate an important number of children and women and showed to have a high potential in terms of organisational and logistic feasibility, acceptability as well as good cost-effectiveness. With regard to improving access to health care, Information – Education and Communication approaches adapted to the intervention context and linked to the provision of essential services and generic drugs showed to be crucial."

Médecine Tropicale 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 493-496

Download

Kaspar Wyss, 2006

Les articles dans cet ouvrage collectif sont regroupés autour de trois piliers de la notion vulnérabilité : (1) la
monnayabilité/marchandisation (anglais «commoditization»), (2) les risques environnementaux («environmental hazards»), et (3) fragmentation sociale. À la suite de la présentation du cadre conceptuel emprunté par l’équipe de recherche, chacune des notions est reprise par une série d’articles. Enfin, le dernier chapitre établit une synthèse des différents chapitres précédents tout en élargissant la notion de vulnérabilité et son lien avec la
santé urbaine.

VertigO - la revue canadienne et électronique en sciences de l'environnement hors série 3: 1-2.

Download

Alexander J.B. Zehnder, Roland Schertenleib, Hong Yang, 2003

"Fair fresh water distribution among humans and nature and among all sectors will be one of the main challenges of the 21st century. There is a complex interplay between the different water users, and clear systematics are needed for efficient decision making. Water uses can be divided into four sectors, (i) water for people, services and industries, (ii) water for agriculture, (iii) water for nature, and (iv) water for energy production. A number of water related issues are relevant for each sector, though not all with the same importance. The issues relate either to water quality, water quantity, (urban) water infrastructure and integrated water management, and socio-economics and institutional aspects. Depending on the sector and the issues, there is an appropriate level for actions. Responsibilities for providing water for people, services, and industries must be taken at the local level (communities, cities, districts). Water for nature and the provision of ecosystem services ask for a more regional, national, or even multinational decision-making structure. The demographic development of the coming 25 years will be a challenge for agriculture to satisfy the food needs of all humans. The adequate and just access to agricultural products needs to be internationally guaranteed. Decisions for all sectors and on all levels imply formidable economic challenges, which will accompany human societies for the next decennia."

Aquatic Sciences 2003, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 1-20

Available from: SpringerLink

Jakob Zinsstag, G. Chimed-Ochir, J. Kolar, M. Nansalmaa, D. Orkhon, F. Roth, Penelope Vounatsou, 2005

"We developed a dynamic model of livestock-to-human brucellosis transmission in Mongolia. The compartmental model considers transmission within sheep and cattle populations and the transmission to humans as additive components. The model was fitted to demographic and seroprevalence data (Rose Bengal test) from livestock and annually reported new human brucellosis cases in Mongolia for 1991–1999 prior to the onset of a mass livestock-vaccination campaign (S19 Brucella abortus for cattle and Rev1 Brucella melitensis for sheep and goat). The vaccination effect was fitted to livestock- and human-brucellosis data from the first 3 years of the vaccination campaign (2000–2002). Parameters were optimized on the basis of the goodness-of-fit (assessed by the deviance). The simultaneously fitted sheep–human and cattle–human contact rates show that 90% of human brucellosis was small-ruminant derived. Average effective reproductive ratios for the year 1999 were 1.2 for sheep and 1.7 for cattle."

Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2005, Vol. 69, Issues 1-2, pp. 77-95

Available from: Science Direct

Editorial

Jakob Zinsstag, 2007

"Today's intimate and rapid global interconnections mean that uncontrolled infectious diseases in one part of the world threaten animal and public health everywhere. The good news is that animal health sciences are technologically better equipped than ever before for detecting new disease outbreaks almost in real time. The bad news is that despite this, there is a daunting gap in converting these advances into effective actions and policies, particularly in developing countries. What can be done to remedy this lack of cohesion? [...]" >>more

Science 2007, Vol. 315, No. 5816, p. 1193

Availabel from: Science Magazine

New approaches towards equity effectiveness

Jakob Zinsstag, P.S. Craig, Moustapha Ould Taleb, 2006

Tropical Medicine & International Health 2006, Vol. 11, Issue 5, pp. 565-772

Download PDF from: Blackwell Synergy

Editorial

Jakob Zinsstag, Mitchell G. Weiss, 2001

"Two decades ago, the U.S. epidemiologist Calvin Schwabe coined a phrase--"the one medicine"--to focus attention on the commonality of human and veterinary health interests.* The underlying concept is traceable to the late 19th century, in contributions of the German pathologist and architect of social medicine Rudolf Virchow. Recent events have brought the relationship between animal and human health into much sharper focus than even public health and veterinary health specialists might have predicted. [...]" >>more

Science 2001, Vol. 294. no. 5542, p. 477

Available from: Science Magazine

Jakob Zinsstag, Mahamat Béchir, Esther Schelling, Kaspar Wyss, 2005

"The WHO ministerial summit held in Mexico City, Mexico, on Nov 16–20, 2004, recognised the pivotal role of strengthened health systems in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in an equity-effective manner. Its resolutions encourage health systems research to include broad societal dimensions. One extension involves closer interaction between human and animal health, for which the US epidemiologist Calvin Schwabe coined the term “one medicine”, to focus attention on the similarity between human and veterinary health interests. [...]"

The Lancet 2005, Vol. 366, Issue 9503, pp. 2142-2145

Available online from: The Lancet
Download PDF from: The Lancet

Jakob Zinsstag, Saada Daoud, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Colette Diguimbaye, Peter Hofmann, Lea Knopf, Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, Esther Schelling, Josef Schierle, Marcel Tanner, Penelope Vounatsou, 2002

Human serum retinol and livestock milk retinol levels were assessed as part of a study on the health status of Chadian nomadic pastoralists and their livestock in close partnership between Chadian public health and livestock institutions. Our study supports the use of goat and cow milk as an important source of vitamin A in pastoral nomadic settings. However, the levels still require to be complemented further by promoting green leafy vegetables, fruits, and supplements.

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research 2002, 72(4): 221-228

Available from: Verlag Hans Huber

Jakob Zinsstag, Saada Daoud, Doumagoum Moto Daugla, Colette Diguimbaye, Peter Hofmann, Lea Knopf, Guelmbaye Ndoutamia, Esther Schelling, Josef Schierle, Marcel Tanner, Penelope Vounatsou, 2004

"Human serum retinol and livestock milk retinol levels were assessed as part of a study on the health status of Chadian nomadic pastoralists and their livestock in close partnership between Chadian public health and livestock institutions. Of the examined women (n = 99), 43% (95% CI 33 – 54 %) were retinol deficient (levels from 0.35 ?mol/L to 0.7 ?mol/L) and 17% (95% CI 10 - 26 %) severely deficient (<0.35 ?mol/L). None of the interviewed women (n=87) reported the consumption of fruit and only two of fresh vegetables in the past 24 hours. Thus, milk was the almost exclusive source of vitamin A for these populations. Goats (n=6) had the highest average milk retinol levels (329 ± 84 ?g/kg [mean ± SEM]), followed by cattle (n=25; 247 ± 32 ?g/kg), and camels (n=12; 120 ± 18 ?g/kg). Human serum retinol was significantly related to livestock milk retinol levels (partial slope 0.23; 95% confidence interval 0.008 – 0.47). Our study confirms that goat and cow milk are important sources of vitamin A in pastoral nomadic settings. However, the intake levels still require to be further complemented by promoting green leafy vegetables, fruits and vitamin supplements."

Médecine Tropicale 2004, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 478-481

Download

A win-win situation for all stakeholders

Christian Zurbruegg, Silke Drescher, Iftekhar Enayetullah, Isabelle Rytz, A.H.Md. Maqsood Sinha, 2005

"The paper describes experiences of Waste Concern, a research based Non-Governmental Organisation, with a community-based decentralised composting project in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The composting scheme started its activities in 1995 with the aim of developing a low-cost technique for composting of municipal solid waste, which is well-suited to Dhaka's waste stream, climate, and socio-economic conditions along with the development of public–private–community partnerships in solid waste management and creation of job opportunities for the urban poor. Organic waste is converted into compost using the “Indonesian Windrow Technique”, a non-mechanised aerobic and thermophile composting procedure. [...]"

Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2005, Volume 43, Issue 3, pp. 281-292

Available from: ScienceDirect

Christian Zurbruegg, Antoine Morel, Roland Schertenleib, Martin Strauss, 2006

This article discusses alternative sanitation systems enabling the reuse of human waste (organic solid waste, urine, faeces) in agriculture. Case studies in Mexico, China, and Ghana illustrate how the concept of closing nutrient cycles can be succesfully implemented.

Helvetas Partnerschaft 2006, Number 183, pp.16-18

Download from Helvetas: German version / French version