Unfinished Business: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Remote Indigenous Communities in Australia's Northern Territory

Improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) outcomes for the ~60,000 Indigenous people living in remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) remains an important but unresolved policy challenge. Despite major national reforms aimed at bolstering Australia's water security over the last decade, the WASH situation in remote Indigenous communities (RICs) has attracted little attention. This study sheds new light on this issue by assessing the status of WASH indicators (access, behaviours, health outcomes) and identifying obstacles that constrain progress. Up-to-date information on access to WASH services in RICs in NT is scant. We piece together historical data to deduce that there is now almost universal access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities. At least 90% of dwellings currently have a piped water supply and a private sanitation facility. In the 72 largest communities, the quantity of water used by households is far greater than the Australian average, and regular testing reveals the water supplied is of good microbiological quality. The main infrastructure shortfalls - in terms of access, reliability and safety - can be found in the more than 400 small homeland communities, most of which have a population of less than 50. Notwithstanding nearly universal access to services, the burden of WASH-related diseases remains substantial. Indigenous children in remote communities are twice as likely to be hospitalised for intestinal infection as non-Indigenous children. Environmental enteropathy and prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation (e.g. Strongyloides) provide further markers of excreta-related disease transmission. Trachoma remains endemic in many RICs despite repeated mass drug administrations. Skin infections are also prevalent, and these are thought to underlie disproportionately high rates of acute glomerulonephritis and acute rheumatic fever, both of which lead to chronic and life-threatening kidney and heart diseases. The WASH landscape in RICs therefore presents a paradox: widespread access to WASH infrastructure but a continued high burden of WASHrelated diseases. The underlying reasons for the situation are complex and inseparable from the entrenched socio-economic disadvantage that characterise many households in RICs. However, evidence points to several proximate causes that contribute to the high burden of WASH-related diseases: (i) problematic hygiene practices; (ii) non-functional health hardware within the home (taps, toilets); and (iii) high household occupancy rates. We conclude that past and current service delivery investments have helped to reduce WASH access disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, but they have failed to close the WASH-related disease gap. If future WASH investments in RICs are to yield optimal health dividends, the broader ecosystem must also be tackled, namely hygiene practices, maintenance of household-level hardware, and overcrowding

Does the source of water for piped supplies affect child health? Evidence from rural vanuatu

© IWA Publishing 2019. Piped water systems are considered to provide the highest service level for drinking water supplies; however, global monitoring of safe water access pays little attention to the type of water source that piped systems draw upon, even if the water is not treated prior to distribution. This study sought to understand whether the source of water for untreated piped supplies influences the prevalence of diarrhoea among children in rural Vanuatu. The analysis was based on a dataset integrating a Demographic and Health Survey and a nationwide water supply inventory. After adjusting for a range of potential confounders, the results revealed a significant association between diarrhoea and the type of water source supplying a piped system. Compared with borehole-supplied piped systems, spring-fed piped systems were significantly associated with increased odds of diarrhoea (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–31, p = 0.040). No significant association between diarrhoea and piped systems drawing on surface water was observed. Increased odds of diarrhoea were significantly associated with water supply systems constructed prior to the year 2000 (AOR 4.9, 95% CI 1.9–13, p = 0.001). The results highlight the need for improvements in spring protection as well as ongoing maintenance and periodic renewal of water supply infrastructure

NGO Legitimacy: Four Models

The aim of this paper is to examine NGOs’ legitimacy in the context of global politics. In order to yield a better understanding of NGOs’ legitimacy at the international level it is important to examine how their legitimacy claims are evaluated. This paper proposes dividing the literature into four models based on the theoretical and analytical approaches to their legitimacy claims: the market model, social change model, new institutionalism model and the critical model. The legitimacy criteria generated by the models are significantly different in their analytical scope of how one is to assess the role of NGOs operating as political actors contributing to democracy. The paper argues that the models present incomplete, and sometimes conflicting, views of NGOs’ legitimacy and that this poses a legitimacy dilemma for those assessing the political agency of NGOs in world politics. The paper concludes that only by approaching their legitimacy holistically can the democratic role of NGOs be explored and analysed in the context of world politics

Swimming Upstream: Identifying student anxieties and solutions

This study explores some of the sources of stress faced by students in higher education. Research identifies an association between stress levels and students’ academic performance. This study aims to determine the sources, level and impact of perceived stresses among students in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, years of study and degree major. Participatory action research was explored as a means of developing strategies and solutions for students experiencing stress-related problems. Eleven undergraduate students were recruited initially as co-researchers with four academic staff and one research assistant. One student continued throughout the cycle with two others having to withdraw because of academic work pressures. A collaborative process took place using narrative storytelling and discussions alongside extra-sessional research. A range of outcomes is anticipated related to the students’ experience and academic achievements. Academic staff responsiveness and concern for student wellbeing and successful achievement will contribute to increased student satisfaction. Identification and development of systematic and effective ways of managing anxieties and sharing this with other HEIs will contribute to student wellbeing. In terms of academic outputs, a paper based on the pilot will be developed and acknowledgement of co-authorship appropriately made. A wider research proposal - inclusive of other universities and programmes can be developed for the future

Nonlinear Dynamics of Aeolian Sand Ripples

We study the initial instability of flat sand surface and further nonlinear dynamics of wind ripples. The proposed continuous model of ripple formation allowed us to simulate the development of a typical asymmetric ripple shape and the evolution of sand ripple pattern. We suggest that this evolution occurs via ripple merger preceded by several soliton-like interaction of ripples.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, corrected 2 typo

A Continuum Saltation Model for Sand Dunes

We derive a phenomenological continuum saltation model for aeolian sand transport that can serve as an efficient tool for geomorphological applications. The coupled differential equations for the average density and velocity of sand in the saltation layer reproduce both known equilibrium relations for the sand flux and the time evolution of the sand flux as predicted by microscopic saltation models. The three phenomenological parameters of the model are a reference height for the grain-air interaction, an effective restitution coefficient for the grain-bed interaction, and a multiplication factor characterizing the chain reaction caused by the impacts leading to a typical time or length scale of the saturation transients. We determine the values of these parameters by comparing our model with wind tunnel measurements. Our main interest are out of equilibrium situations where saturation transients are important, for instance at phase boundaries (ground/sand) or under unsteady wind conditions. We point out that saturation transients are indispensable for a proper description of sand flux over structured terrain, by applying the model to the windward side of an isolated dune, thereby resolving recently reported discrepancies between field measurements and theoretical predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure