B. Macamo

E. Opong

I. Roia

K. Ogebule

N. Varjavand

P. Ramirez

S. Marquez

Annals of Global Health

Directory of Open Access Journals

Planetary Health, One Health, and Environmental Sustainability A n n a l s o f G l o b a l H e a l t h , V O L . 8 3 , N O . 1 , 2 0 1 7J a n u a r y eF e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 : 1 8 7 – 1 9 2188TEAM Malawi (Technology-Education-Advocacy-MedicineMalawi): A Multidisciplinary Global Health ExperienceP. Muelenaer1, R. Hall2, P. Kelly2, K. kochersberger2,A.A. Muelenaer3, J. Powell4, P. Talbot4, A. Taylor2; 1Virginia TechCarilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, USA, 2Virginia Tech, Blacks-burg, USA, 3Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke,Virginia, USA, 4Radford University, Radford, USAProgram/Project Purpose: Among faculty and students, there isincreasing demand for global engagement experiences. In 2013,one physician from the Virginia Tech Carilion School ofMedicine (VTCSoM) and two students from Virginia Tech(VT) engineering conducted a community based participatoryresearch (CBPR) project in water, sanitation and hygiene(WASH) and a needs assessment for medical devices in Malawi.In 2014, two physicians and three students returned to Malawito share prototypes of seven devices with 100 healthcareproviders at eight hospitals. Over the next two years, multipleprojects were launched regarding medical device and WASHsolutions, while collaborations blossomed with the local globalhealth community.Structure/Method/Design: In 2015, faculty and students fromVT, Radford University (RU), and VTCSoM formed the multidis-ciplinary TEAM Malawi with a Community Wellness model ofhealthcare as its central theme. Three groups went to Malawi in2016, each with a distinct focus. Teaching and Learning in Malawiwas a combination of education, engineering, and medical studentsand faculty. Experience WASH permitted students to participate inapplied research, field trips, small group activities, and classroomlectures. Service-Learning Through Engineering Design engaged VTstudents through community-based participatory design ofWASH and medical technology.Outcome & Evaluation: Four faculty and six students participatedin Teaching and Learning, resulting in collaborations with hospitalsand schools in Zomba, with the ministry of health, and NGOs forresearch, education, and service. Four medical devices were intro-duced via CBPR. Experience WASH involved 15 US and 8 Mala-wian students, and 2 US and 1 Malawian faculty for a course atMzuzu University. Three tracks were completed, including FishContamination in the Market Supply Chain, Hygiene and Sanita-tion Assessment of Public Sites, and Mapping WASH Services ina Community. The Service-Learning group consisted of one under-graduate, one graduate student, and one faculty from VT. Theyintroduced a pit latrine desludging system, a water well diggingsystem, and a medical device to colleagues at the University ofMalawi-Polytechnic.Going Forward: This multi-institutional, multidisciplinaryapproach, coupled with CBPR centered about a community well-ness model, has resulted in a growing program with the potentialto produce sustainable TEAM change in Malawi.Source of Funding: Virginia Tech College of Engineering; Vir-ginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine; Pediatric Medical DeviceInstitute.Abstract #: 2.003_PLAPalm Oil in Myanmar: A Spatiotemporal Study of HowIndustrial Farming Affects Biodiversity Loss and theSustainable DietK.M. Nicholas1, J. Fanzo2, K. MacManus3; 1Columbia University,Queens, New York (NY), USA, 2Biodiversity (FAO), Rome, Italy,3Columbia University, New York City, USABackground: Palm oil consumption is not only potentially delete-rious to human health, but its production has resulted in 11 millionhectares of deforestation globally. Palm oil development andconsumption in Myanmar is a burgeoning and under-researchedphenomenon. Importing roughly 394,000 metric tons of palm oilin 2012 alone, the Burmese government has recently pushed forintensive palm oil development to sate domestic demand forconsumption and become international market players. Givenwell-studied linkages between biodiversity loss and ecosystem insta-bility, this study aims to characterize the nature of deforestation forpalm oil production in Myanmar, its effects on the ‘sustainable diet’,and what factors influence it.Methods: First, a GIS land suitability analysis overlaying spatialdata on rainfall, elevation, and slope was conducted in order to iden-tify areas of Myanmar best suited to palm oil tree growth. Second,after narrowing the geographic range, vegetation indices using varyingspectral band models in ENVI (specifically, bands 3, 2, 1; 4, 5, 1; and5, 4, 3) allowed a more granular examination of vegetation phenologyover the past 30 years. Lastly, ground-truthing permitted an in-person verification of GIS and ENVI results and provided contextualunderstanding of palm oil development in Myanmar.Findings: GIS analysis reveals that the Tanintharyi region, one ofthe most biodiverse regions in Myanmar, proves best suited to palmoil growth. Next, Vegetation indices reveal a rapid shift from small-holder farming to what appears to be industrial palm oil plantationsall throughout Tanintharyi. Ground-truthing suggests that planta-tions are indeed becoming fully industrial, encourage constructionof massive processing plants like the Yuzana plant 15km north ofMaliwan, and accompany an apparent local embracing of the indus-trial activity.Interpretation: If these trends of palm oil intensification continue,then four key outcomes may follow: (1) even higher levels of biodi-versity loss, (2) increased access and affordability of edible palm oil,(3) decreased importing of palm oil, and (4) large profits made fromselling excess palm oil on the international market. Although thefirst two may most affect low-income Burmese populations, thelatter two may bode well for the domestic economy and interna-tional trade partners, thus encouraging competing interests.Source of Funding: Funded by: Global Fellows in SustainableDevelopment, Columbia University.Abstract #: 2.004_PLAWhat has Changed as a Result of Having Access to Water inRural Communities in Gaza, Mozambique?K. Ogebule1, P. Ramirez2, S. Marquez3, E. Opong4, N. Varjavand5,I. Roia6, B. Macamo6; 1Drexel University, Philadelphia,A n n a l s o f G l o b a l H e a l t h , V O L . 8 3 , N O . 1 , 2 0 1 7 Planetary Health, One Health, and Environmental SustainabilityJ a n u a r y eF e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 : 1 8 7 - 1 9 2189Pennsylvannia, USA, 2Drexel University School of Medicine,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 3Drexel University, Philadelphia,USA, 4World Vision, Mbabane, Swaziland, 5Drexel University,Philadelphia, PA, USA, 6World Vision, Maputo, MozambiqueProgram/Project Purpose: About half of the populations withoutaccess to improved drinking water are in Sub-Saharan Africa (319million).[1] Mozambique, as part of this statistic, is also ranked asone of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world (180 outof 188 in the UN Human Development Index).[2] In an effort toprovide every person with the human right to water and sanitation,World Vision Mozambique has implemented the WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) Project. However, has this project beensuccessful and ultimately benefited the country? In an effort tounderstand the impact that introducing a reliable source of waterhas in a Mozambican community, we conducted a field study toassess the aftermath of WASH.Structure/Method/Design: Two local districts, Chibuto andGuija, were selected; from each, a community with an old waterborehole and a new borehole was identified. In a span of six weeks,participants were chosen and surveyed based on their role in thecommunity: adult community member, secondary student, andhealth care provider or professor.Outcome & Evaluation: Results show that communities areutilizing the water bore holes to maximize their everyday chores;however, they are not correlating the serious health implicationsthat are related to lack of potable water or poor sanitation methods.Based on the results of the study, we recommend that World Visioninitiate a continuous follow up after water borehole implementationin a community. An evaluation of this action could help increasehealth sustainability and an understanding of the importance ofwater in Mozambican communities.Going Forward: Further evaluation methods within communitieswould assess sustainability measures in water, hygiene and sanita-tion. A better understanding of the importance of water amongcommunity members would improve the overall health and infra-structure in Mozambican.Source of Funding: The project was funded by the DornsifeGlobal Development Scholars Program at Drexel University.Abstract #: 2.005_PLASeasonal Variations in Fetal Growth Patterns in UlaanbaatarCity, MongoliaH. Ong1, S. Hunter1, C. Azen1, B. Munkhuu2, D. Warburton3;1Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA, 2National Centerfor Maternal and Child Health of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,3Saban Research Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles,CA, USABackground: Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia sees someof the world’s most extreme seasonal variability in climate and airpollution levels. In the winter months, temperatures can drop to40 C and particulate matter and gaseous pollutant concentrationsat this time can exceed over 20 times WHO standards. In thesummer months, air pollution levels are low and temperatureextremes can reach up to +33 C. This cross-sectional study exam-ines whether there are seasonal variations in fetal growth patterns onprenatal ultrasound evaluations given these extreme environmentalfluctuations.Methods: We collected measurements from 4373 fetal ultrasoundsfrom three antenatal care clinics in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia fromMarch to July 2016. Biparietal diameter (BPD), abdominal circum-ference (AC), and femur length (FL) growth parameters were esti-mated from each sonographic evaluation. Z-scores were calculatedfor each measurement using published norms by weeks gestation.Season of conception was grouped in tertiles: Winter (Novemberto February), Spring (March to June), Summer (July to October).The impact of season of conception on second and third trimesterultrasound Z-score measurements was assessed with two-wayANOVA with interaction at a 0.05 significance level.Findings: There were significant differences in FL, BPD and ACby season of conception. FL Z-score (p¼0.033, Winter> Spring),BPD Z-score (p ¼0.011, Winter < Summer), and AC Z-score(p¼0.014, Winter < Summer). BPD Z-score also differed bytrimester of pregnancy (p¼0.0002, Tr2>Tr3). AC Z-score didnot differ by season of conception, but did differ by trimester(p¼0.0003 Tr2> Tr3).Interpretation: Our preliminary findings suggest that there areseasonal patterns in fetal growth in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Toour knowledge, this is the first study on seasonal variations in fetalgrowth patterns in Mongolia. These findings will help to betterunderstand environmental changes on fetal growth, and to developinterventions to reduce adverse fetal and birth outcomes.Source of Funding: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles PediatricResidency Program IMPACT Global Health Track. Support wasalso provided by an NIH Fogarty International Center/ NationalInstitute of Environmental Health Sciences DE43 grant.Abstract #: 2.006_PLAThe Effects of Early Childhood Development Centers onChild Development and Nutritional Outcomes in Estancia, ElSalvadorA.E. Symonds1, S. Garcia2, J. Kasper3; 1Harvard Medical School,Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 2CAIPES/Campesinos Para DesarrolloHumano, Estancia, El Salvador, 3MGH/Harvard Medical School,Boston, USABackground: In El Salvador, it is estimated that 35% of house-holds live in multidimensional poverty with limited access to educa-tion, adequate nutrition, and economic opportunities. Poverty isknown to affect child development and educational outcomes. Anestimated 25% of three and four-year children in El Salvador havea low Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) score. Doctorsfor Global Health partnered with a local non-governmental organi-zation, La Asociación de Campesinos para el Desarrollo Humano(Peasant Association for Human Development, CDH), and facili-tated the creation of Centers for Integrated Child Development(CICD) for children two e six years of age; children receive a curric-ulum that includes motor, language, and socio-emotional activities

What has Changed as a Result of Having Access to Water in Rural Communities in Gaza, Mozambique?

http://www.annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/10.1016/j.aogh.2017.03.474/galley/684/download/

What has Changed as a Result of Having Access to Water in Rural Communities in Gaza, Mozambique?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Directory of Open Access Journals