Following-up on successful sanitation situations

This paper summarises the findings from a ten-year follow-up study of nine unions that achieved 100 percent sanitation coverage during a 2003-2006 Bangladesh national sanitation campaign. The unions all had been studied in 2009-2010, and four of them also in 2000 and 2001. Follow-up interviews with union chairmen were done in 2015. Some of the places had experienced multiple waves of sanitation promotion programming since the early 1990s. The authors recommend follow-up research (using RRA methods) as a way to learn from experience and gain insight into the social and technical forces affecting long-term sustainability of sanitation practices. In these cases technical quality of products was important, as were several social factors, especially family division, seasonal migration, and demographic changes, such as urbanisation and crowding. The nine unions are ranked in terms of their levels of institutional and social support for sanitation improvement

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Bangladeshi Slums: An Evaluation of the WaterAid-Bangladesh Urban Program

Citing an external evaluation commissioned in 2001, this paper describes WaterAid's WASH program implemented by local NGOs in Bangladeshi slums of Dhaka and Chittagong. The program involved training NGO staff in technical issues, participatory methods for baseline studies, community mobilization and capacity-building, and hygiene education. Partners provided connections to metropolitan water authority lines, tubewells, sanitation blocks, community latrines, pit latrines, footpaths, drainage improvement, and solid waste management. Besides health benefits, a goal of the program was to create a sense of citizenship for socially marginalized slum dwellers. To this end, water points were managed by committees of local women. Overall, the evaluation found the program to be effective in providing facilities and especially in making headway in negotiations with corporations and water and sewage authorities to gain access to legal water connections. Yet, reaching the poorest of citizens while getting cost-recovery for suppliers proved to be a challenge for which new cost-sharing arrangements would need to be conceived

Bengali women's ideas about water quality

Respecting cultural beliefs and customary practices is part of the rights- and commons-based thinking about water. The focus is on place-based practices and beliefs. Incorporating indigenous beliefs into any new, participatory approach to water management, however, is quite challenging to the scientifically oriented development professional. This paper explains to the basics of cultural views of water among Bengali-speaking people of the southern, eastern, and western parts of the Bangladesh delta. Examples are drawn from the authors’ work on arsenic in drinking water and other WASH issues. Ideas such as hot/cold or pure/impure are perceived as “superstitions” by many scientists. If our thinking about water life is to change in the direction the commons-based approach suggests -- to incorporate indigenous views into place-based planning – the main obstacle will be with those who now have the upper hand, not those who are marginalized. Planning processes should be organized in ways that respect local views and take them into consideration when introducing new technologies

Groundwater Modelling of Dhaka City and Surrounding Areas and Evaluation of the Effect of Artificial Recharge to Aquifers

Dhaka city lies on the Madhupur Clay overlying the Plio-Pliestocene Dupi Tila Formation which forms the principal aquifer. Massive withdrawal of water from this aquifer caused fall of water table at an alarming rate which might provoke subsidence, ecological and environmental hazards [1]. It has been found that the aquifer system of the study area can be divided in to four aquifers and four aquitards up to a depth of 400m. The long term hydrographs for the observation wells within the Dhaka City shows a sharp decline of water level with little or even no fluctuation which indicates over exploitation of aquifers [2]. The water table contour maps of wet and dry season show a pointed cone of depression in the central part of the study area. The research work has been carried out to predict the future response of groundwater level after 20 years for increasing abstraction and assessment of the USAbility of the artificial recharge of aquifers of the Dhaka City using groundwater modelling technique. An eight layer transient groundwater flow model was set up with time steps of a month using MODFLOW. Two model scenarios were considered for model prediction. For the first scenario it has been found that after 20 years the elevation of groundwater level will decline to about -120m in the central part of the Dhaka City, and the mega cone of depression will spread over an area of about 1962 km2. For the second scenario substantial water is injected into the aquifer for recharging the aquifer artificially. The quantity of artificially recharged water was equal to the abstraction of water in Dhaka City. The model predicted that the elevation of the groundwater level after 20 years of pumping will not decline anymore and will be fixed at 70m which is the present minimum groundwater level. The area of the mega cone of depression around Dhaka city will reduce by 945km2 for the next 20 years. As a consequence of artificial recharge predicted environmental degradation in and around Dhaka City can be prevented

The Impact of Teacher and Technology in Class Room

Classroom teaching is a demanding job. Teacher spends most of his time in teaching. Teacher is responsible for many tasks in the classroom teaching. Teacher plans and implement the instructions. He plays the role of managers, psychologists, counselors, custodians, communicators, social ambassadors and entertainers. Sometimes teacher becomes disillusion and frustration while performing the multi tasks because the classroom demands, distracts and challenges the teacher to use new tools to brush up the key concepts and skills in regarding Science, Social Studies, Art and other curriculum standards. He tries to focus on effective teaching with the help of new tools. The practice of new tools able the students to read, reason, powerful writing, communicate productively with global community and conduct thoughtful research. The teacher faces the success in the right implementation of tools i.e. technology. Now a day the integration of technology in teaching and learning process has become a perennial one. Technology liberates to reestablish the role and value of the individual classroom teacher. The two things are compulsory for the usage of technology “first the perspective of the classroom must change to become learner centered, second, students and teachers must enter into a collaboration or partnership with technology in order to create a “community” that nurtures, encourages and supports the learning process” (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt). This paper focuses on the relation between teacher and the technology in the classroom teaching. Keywords: Teacher, Technology, Classroom, Teaching objective

Cost-effective management of ufra disease of rice and identification of resistant landraces

A series of trials were undertaken to evaluate 3 nematicides, marshal 6G, diafuran 5G and pilarfuran 5G @ 1.0 kg ai/ha along with standard cheek, furadan 5G and to explore the resistant genotypes against ufra disease caused by Ditylenchus angustus in the rain-fed and irrigated ecosystems during 2001 to 2004. All the tested nematicides were effective to control the ufra disease of rice and increased yield compared to control (diseased). In respect of all seasons, marshal 6G, diafuran 5G, pilarfuran 5G increased yield by 3.35 to 5.10, 3.23 to 5.00 and 3.26 to 4.90 t/ha, respectively over the control (diseased). Yield loss due to ufra disease was 87.85% in the rain-fed rice, while it was 90.82% in the irrigated rice in artificial inoculation condition. In simple profitability analysis, marshal 6G, diafuran 5G and pilarfuran 5G showed 16.20, 15.76 and 15.58 times profitable in the rain-fed rice and 20.40, 20.11, 19.68 and 20.58 times profitable respectively, over the control (diseased) in the irrigated rice. So, the application of 3 nematicides, marshal 6G, diafuran 5G and pilarfuran 5G @ 1k ai/ha were effective in controlling ufra disease and could be used as alternative to furadan 5G. Of 40 landraces of rice tested, 5 (Daudin Da-21, Lambo Sail, Madhu Sail, Bhawalia Aman and Lal Chamara) showed highly resistant against ufra disease

Chemical and environmental vector control as a contribution to the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis on the Indian subcontinent: cluster randomized controlled trials in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bangladesh, India and Nepal are working towards the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) by 2015. In 2005 the World Health Organization/Training in Tropical Diseases launched an implementation research programme to support integrated vector management for the elimination of VL from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The programme is conducted in different phases, from proof-of-concept to scaling up intervention. This study was designed in order to evaluate the efficacy of the three different interventions for VL vector management: indoor residual spraying (IRS); long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLIN); and environmental modification (EVM) through plastering of walls with lime or mud.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a cluster randomized controlled trial we compared three vector control interventions with a control arm in 96 clusters (hamlets or neighbourhoods) in each of the 4 study sites: Bangladesh (one), India (one) and Nepal (two). In each site four villages with high reported VL incidences were included. In each village six clusters and in each cluster five households were randomly selected for sand fly collection on two consecutive nights. Control and intervention clusters were matched with average pre-intervention vector densities.</p> <p>In each site six clusters were randomly assigned to each of the following interventions: indoor residual spraying (IRS); long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLIN); environmental management (EVM) or control. All the houses (50-100) in each intervention cluster underwent the intervention measures. A reduction of intra-domestic sand fly densities measured in the study households by overnight US Centres for Disease Prevention and Control light trap captures (that is the number of sand flies per trap per night) was the main outcome measure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IRS, and to a lesser extent EVM and LLINs, significantly reduced sand fly densities for at least 5 months in the study households irrespective of type of walls or whether or not people shared their house with cattle. IRS was effective in all sites but LLINs were only effective in Bangladesh and India. Mud plastering did not reduce sand fly density (Bangladesh study); lime plastering in India and one Nepali site, resulted in a significant reduction of sand fly density but not in the second Nepali site.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Sand fly control can contribute to the regional VL elimination programme; IRS should be strengthened in India and Nepal but in Bangladesh, where vector control has largely been abandoned during the last decades, the insecticide treatment of existing bed nets (coverage above 90% in VL endemic districts) could bring about an immediate reduction of vector populations; operational research to inform policy makers about the efficacious options for VL vector control and programme performance should be strengthened in the three countries.</p

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030