Children: a vital component for achieving total sanitation and associated benefits (Bangladesh case study)

While the impact of poor sanitation is often measured by the effects on children, most sanitation interventions target adults. Global monitoring of sanitation coverage against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) generally also overlooks sanitation among young children. In Bangladesh, the faeces of only 22% of children under age three were disposed of safely in 2006, and children in more marginalized households were least likely to have their faeces safely disposed of. Even in households with improved sanitation, 22% of children’s faeces were reported to be left in the open. These inequities are emblematic of trends seen in developing countries worldwide. This paper provides a policy and programming-relevant overview of child sanitation in Bangladesh, a country with relatively more interventions focused on increasing demand, improving supply, and creating an enabling environment for the safe disposal of child faeces

Synthesis of Novel ZnV₂O₄ Hierarchical Nanospheres and Their Applications as Electrochemical Supercapacitor and Hydrogen Storage Material

Hierarchical nanostructures (Hs) have recently garnered enormous attention due to their remarkable performances in catalysis, electronic devices, energy storage and conversion. Considering the advantage of hierarchical nanostructures, we have formulated a facile and template free method to synthesize novel hierarchical nanospheres (NHNs) of ZnV₂O₄. Both zinc and vanadium are earth abundant, relatively economical and can offer several oxidation states, which can render a broad range of redox reactions favorable for electrochemical energy storage applications. Keeping these points in mind, we investigated for the first time the electrochemical supercapacitor performance of NHNs. The electrochemical measurements were performed in 2 M KOH solution. The measured specific capacitance of ZnV₂O₄ electrode is 360 F/g at 1 A/g with good stability and retention capacity of 89% after 1000 cycles. Moreover, the hydrogen storage properties of NHNs were measured at 473, 573, and 623 K with an absorption of 1.76, 2.03, and 2.49 wt %. respectively. These studies pave the way to consider ZnV₂O₄ as prospective material for energy storage applications