HABITAT – Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities

March 22, 2011 · 0 comments

Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings. 2010.

Download Full-text

HABITAT.

This publication is one important component of the overall WHO strategy to strengthen the response of the local, national and global health communities to reduce health inequities in an increasingly urbanized world. The report exposes the extent to which the urban poor suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and health problems, which can be traced back to inequalities in their social and living conditions.

It also provides evidence-based information and tools to help municipal and health authorities tackle health inequities in their cities. The case for action is juxtaposed with personal stories and photos illustrating the issues of urban health equity in five countries. Stories of municipal and national authorities who are taking action to reduce inequities also are featured.

Bangladesh – Water for cities: Responding to the urban challenge

March 18, 2011 · 0 comments

Water for cities: Responding to the urban challenge

Access to safe water and sanitation is the daily battle for the dwellers living in rapidly growing cities, especially in slums. Dhaka, one of the world’s fastest growing mega-cities is facing abysmal challenges to ensure the right to safe water and sanitation for its people. Experts urged to fill the fissures in the water management plan to cope with the growing number of population and meet the target of Millennium Development Goals.

One out of four city residents worldwide, 789 million in total, lives without access to improved sanitation facilities and 497 million people in cities rely on shared sanitation. The poor in cities receive the worst services, paying up to 50 times more per litre of water than their richer neighbours because they usually have to buy their water from private vendors.

In order to focus the international attention on the impact of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and uncertainties on urban water systems, World Water Day will be observed tomorrow. This year’s theme, “Water for cities: Responding to the urban challenge” aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organisations, communities and individuals to actively engage in addressing the defy of urban water management.

Slums dwellers, 30 to 50 percent of total Dhaka residents are continuously facing hurdles to access safe water and proper sanitation. The situation is getting more complicated by consistent burden of the new migrants who arrive every day. Nearly 40 percent of world’s urban expansion is growing slums that threatens outbreak of diseases like Cholera, Diarrheoa, Malaria.

Along with existing population, around 2,100 people migrating to Dhaka everyday need potable water, sanitation services, and a wastewater system that keeps the city free of disease and ensures sustainable development. Governments, policymakers, municipalities and civil society need top work harder and plan better to deal with the ever growing water and sanitation needs of everyone. Water, after all is life and sanitation is dignity.

March 19, 2010 – Daily Star

World Bank research – experience with water standposts and the informal water sector

March 18, 2011 · 0 comments

Provision of water to the poor in Africa : experience with water standposts and the informal water sector, 2010.

Download Fulll-text (pdf)

Keener, Sarah; Luengo, Manuel; Banerjee, Sudeshna. World Bank.

Standpipes that dispense water from utilities are the most common alternatives to piped water connections for poor customers in the cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. Fifty-five percent of the unconnected urban population relies on standpipes as their first water source. Other informal water providers include household resellers and a variety of water tankers and vendors, which are the first water source of 1 percent and 3 percent of the urban population, respectively.

In the cities studied, the percentage of unconnected households ranges from 12 percent to 86 percent of the population. The percentage of unconnected people covered by standpipes is substantially higher for countries with higher rates of household connection, while the percentage of unconnected people covered by water tankers or water vendors is higher for countries with lower rates of household connection. Water prices in the informal market are much higher than for households with private connections or yard taps.

Although standpipes are heavily subsidized by utilities, the prices charged by standpipe operators are closely related to the informal water reseller price. Standpipe management models also affect the informal price of water. For example, the shift from utilities management to delegated management models without complementary regulation or consumer information has often led to declines in service levels and increased prices. Standpipes are not the only or even the most efficient solution in peri-urban areas. Programs that promote private household connections and arrangements that improve pricing and services in the household resale market should also be considered by policy makers.

Using formative research to develop MNCH programme in urban slums in Bangladesh

November 22, 2010 · 0 comments

BMC Public Health. 2010 Nov 2;10(1):663.

Using formative research to develop MNCH programme in urban slums in Bangladesh: experiences from MANOSHI, BRAC.

Ahmed SM, Hossain A, Khan MA, Mridha MK, Alam A, Choudhury N, Sharmin T, Afsana K, Bhuiya A.

Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh. ahmed.sm@brac.net.

BACKGROUND: MANOSHI, an integrated community-based package of essential Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) services is being implemented by BRAC in the urban slums of Bangladesh since 2007. The objective of the formative research done during the inception phase was to understand the context and existing resources available in the slums, to reduce uncertainty about anticipated effects, and develop and refine the intervention components.

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

Over 93 million people will be living in slums in India by 2011

November 22, 2010 · 1 comment

New Delhi, Nov 20, IRNA — India will have about 93.06 million people living in slums by next year, up by over 18 million in the past 10 years, according to the government.

An expert committee, constituted to look into various aspects of slum census, projected the population living in this cluster in 2011 at 93.06 million, up from 75.26 million since 2001, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) on Friday.

The expert committee, which submitted its report to the Ministry on 30th August, was headed by Pranab Sen, principal adviser to the Planning Commission and the country’s former chief statistician.

According to the Minister, the committee has recommended that it is absolutely essential to count the slum population even in cities having less than 20,000 population for policy formulation purposes.

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities

November 22, 2010 · 0 comments

WHO/UN-HABITAT report – November 2010

Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings

Available online PDF [145p.] at:  http://bit.ly/cJYptP

“…..The report, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings, will enable city leaders and urban planners to identify deprived populations and target measures to improve their health.

“….The report is based on a new analysis that looks beyond city averages or beyond the usual information from cities and towns to identify hidden pockets of ill-health and social deprivation. Past efforts have largely focused on data averages, and on differences between cities. The new approach combines available demographic data with novel analysis to unmask urban averages. These findings allow city leaders and policy makers to look at trends, even within neighbourhoods and understand differences within as well as between cities.

Contents:

Part One. The dawn of an urban WORLD

  • Chapter 1. The rise of modern cities
  • Chapter 2. Health in an urban context
  • Chapter 3. Urban health inequity and why it matters

Part Two. Unmasking hidden cities

  • Chapter 4. Urban health inequities revealed
  • Chapter 5. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
  • Chapter 6. Urban governance for reducing health inequities
  • Part Three. Overcoming urban health inequities
  • Chapter 7. Building an evidence base for actionChapter 8. Taking action
  • Conclusion: The price and the promise of our urban world

IIED – Groundwater, self-supply and poor urban dwellers

November 19, 2010 · 0 comments

Groundwater, self-supply and poor urban dwellers: A review with case studies of Bangalore and Lusaka, November 2010.

Full-text: http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/10584IIED.pdf (pdf, 1MB)

Jenny T. Grönwall, Martin Mulenga, Gordon McGranahan

An estimated 800 million urban dwellers lack access to safe and adequate drinking water. Most of those people live in unplanned, low-income areas and slums. The vital role of groundwater for this group remains largely unexplored despite that some 50 per cent of all urban water use worldwide is attributed to well, spring and borehole sources. None of these numbers have been broken down to show whether and how the dependency on groundwater is divided between rich and poor, however. There are reasons to believe that people living in informal settlements and slums resort to using groundwater to a larger degree than those connected to public utilities’ water supply networks.

This review seeks to shed light on why and to what extent people in urban poor areas use groundwater for drinking and other domestic purposes; strategies employed to access the water; the implications of the dependence on groundwater; and what this should mean in terms of policy and regulation. It contains two case studies – of the cities of Bangalore, India, and Lusaka, Zambia – in order to substantiate the limited amount of statistics and literature in the field.

PLoS Medicine Policy Forum on Water and Sanitation

November 16, 2010 · 1 comment

Below are links to the full-text of the 4 articles in the the water and sanitation policy series just published in PLoS Medicine:

1 – Bartram J, Cairncross S (2010)

Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water: Forgotten Foundations of Health.PLoS Med 7(11): e1000367. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000367

A massive disease burden is associated with deficient hygiene, sanitation, and water supply and is largely preventable with proven, cost-effective interventions. The total benefits of these interventions are greater than the health benefits alone and can be valued at more than the costs of the interventions. Hygiene, sanitation, and water supply are development priorities, yet the ambition of international policy on drinking water and sanitation is inadequate. Hygiene, sanitation, and water supply continue to have health implications in the developed world. The active involvement of health professionals in hygiene, sanitation, and water supply is crucial to accelerating and consolidating progress for health.

2 – Hunter PR, MacDonald AM, Carter RC (2010)

Water Supply and Health. PLoS Med 7(11): e1000361. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000361

A safe, reliable, affordable, and easily accessible water supply is essential for good health, but for several decades almost 1 billion people in developing countries have lacked access to such a supply. A poor water supply impacts health by causing acute infectious diarrhoea, repeat or chronic diarrhoea episodes, and nondiarrhoeal disease, which can arise from chemical species such as arsenic and fluoride. It can also affect health by limiting productivity and the maintenance of personal hygiene. Reasons for the limited progress towards universal access to an adequate water supply include high population growth rates in developing countries, insufficient rates of capital investment, difficulties in appropriately developing local water resources, and the ineffectiveness of institutions mandated to manage water supplies (in urban areas) or to support community management (in rural areas). Strenuous efforts must be made to improve access to safe and sustainable water supplies in developing countries, and, given the health burden on the public and the costs to the health system, health professionals should join with others in demanding accelerated progress towards global access to safe water.

3 – Mara D, Lane J, Scott B, Trouba D (2010)

Sanitation and Health. PLoS Med 7(11): e1000363. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000363

2.6 billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation—the safe disposal of human excreta. Lack of sanitation contributes to about 10% of the global disease burden, causing mainly diarrhoeal diseases. In the past, government agencies have typically built sanitation infrastructure, but sanitation professionals are now concentrating on helping people to improve their own sanitation and to change their behaviour. Improved sanitation has significant impacts not only on health, but on social and economic development, particularly in developing countries. The health sector has a strong role to play in improving sanitation in developing countries through policy development and the implementation of sanitation programmes.

4 – Cairncross S, Bartram J, Cumming O, Brocklehurst C (2010)

Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water: What Needs to Be Done? PLoS Med 7(11): e1000365. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000365

As the last article in a series on water and sanitation, this paper considers what needs to be done to make significant progress towards ensuring universal access to hygiene, sanitation, and water. We first discuss the differences between these three subsectors and the possible reasons for poor rates of progress towards achieving universal access in recent years. Then, we consider the actors whose engagement is essential for the sector, including the poor households themselves who are significant investors, local and central government, donors, and international agencies. Finally, we discuss the potentially important role of the health sector in improving hygiene, sanitation, and water worldwide and propose a detailed Agenda for Action.

An update on the Global Forum on Urbanization and Health

November 16, 2010 · 0 comments

An update on the Global Forum on Urbanization and Health from Richard Bradford

15 November 2010 – Around 300 people from more than 90 countries reached Portopia Hotel for start of the Global Forum on Urbanization and Health today. Over 50 ministers, mayors and other dignitaries are in attendance. The forum opened with a performance of traditional Japanese instruments, the shamisen and the tsutsumi drum. In welcome remarks, Kobe mayor Tatsuo Yada expressed his city’s readiness to cooperate with other cities around the world in addressing health and urbanization. Next, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Permanent Secretary Mitsunori Okamoto endorsed the forum’s focus on intersectoral action to improve health in cities. WHO Western Pacific Regional Director Shin Young-Soo reiterated that one billion people live in appalling conditions and that a major factor is unplanned urbanization, leading to major health problems.

African Union Commission for Social Affairs, Bience Gawanas was keynote speaker of the first plenary, setting the scene for the forum with an overview of the health challenges facing cities today. Gawanas challenged participants by asking, “When people come to the city, are they valued?”

Eight focus sessions were held discussing infectious and noncommunicable disease, climate change, urban environmental health threats, evidence, “cleaner and greener” urban services, disaster risks, health systems and health in slums.

Shen Xiaoming, the Vice Mayor of Shanghai was keynote speaker for the second plenary, giving a detailed overview of the city’s progressive plans for public health and presenting a futuristic and inspiring film about Shanghai’s hi-tech vision of health services in 2015.

The day ended with a special meeting on intersectoral action on health and an evening session where delegates heard about the health initiatives in cities from El Paso, Texas to Windhoek, Namibia. Dr. Vlahov from the New York Academy of Medicine moderated this session leading conference participants through the award winning presentations.

Alex Rothman, Coordinator
International Society for Urban Health
The New York Academy of Medicine
Email: arothman@nyam.org

IIED – Importance of wells to urban poor stressed

November 16, 2010 · 1 comment

International Institute for Environment and Development

Study reveals immense importance of ‘invisible’ water to urban poor

A key water resource that will grow in importance as climate change takes hold is currently going largely unmeasured — with big implications for poor communities in developing nations, says research published today (15 November 2010).

The International Institute for Environment and Development’s study shows that hundreds of millions of urban people in such countries already depend on this hidden resource.

Water taken directly from wells rather than being piped to users from surface-water supplies such as rivers and reservoirs is rarely taken into account, and it is therefore being used invisibly.

This might mean that it is being used unsustainably but it might also mean that groundwater has even greater potential to supply poor communities than is currently thought.

The study estimates that almost a third of urban households in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia rely on groundwater from local wells, and the share is considerably higher among poorer households.

[click to continue…]

Bookmark and Share

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →