Showing papers by "Corinne J. Schuster-Wallace published in 2014"

Assessing changing vulnerability to dengue in northeastern Brazil using a water-associated disease index approach

Abstract: Water management practices and access to safe water supplies have major implications for human health. While a range of assessments has been developed to assess water vulnerability, limited work has extended these concepts to health and wellbeing. Water-associated disease cycles are characterized by complex linkages between social and ecological determinants, thus conceptualizing vulnerability in the context of health offers a useful framework for analysis. This paper applies a water associated disease index (WADI) as a tool to deepen understanding of changing vulnerability to dengue, comparing conditions in 2000 and 2010 in Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. Multi-dimensional data were integrated into indicators of exposure and susceptibility using the WADI approach, including water access, land cover, climate, and solid waste collection, and outputs were validated and visualized in map form. The findings illustrate heterogeneous patterns of vulnerability to dengue in the region, and highlight trends of seasonal and long-term changes. Highest vulnerability was observed in densely populated Recife and the surrounding coastal region in both time periods, with climate conditions creating seasonal trends in exposure to dengue. While more remote areas in the semi-arid Sertao showed low vulnerability overall, increases were observed in some areas between 2000 and 2010 due to land use intensification and growing population densities. These findings suggest that interventions should consider the dynamic nature of social and ecological factors that contribute to health outcomes and address current as well as future populations vulnerable to dengue transmission. This vulnerability mapping approach can be applied to other water-associated diseases impacted by global environmental change to highlight priority areas for further investigation and contribute towards improving interventions.

Waterborne and Foodborne Diseases, Climate Change Impacts on Health

Abstract: Climatic conditions strongly impact the incidence and transmission of many waterborne and foodborne diseases. Climate change may increase the risk to these illnesses by influencing weather patterns, resulting in warmer temperatures, more variable rainfall events and decreased water availability. The extent to which these changes will increase the burden of disease is uncertain, however there are implications for many exposure pathways. In addition to infectious disease agents, the transport and fate of chemicals such as heavy metals and organic compounds in the environment will be affected by changing water flows. In water stressed areas, reductions in fresh water availability due to climate change will have critical implications for water quality, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as children. Decreased water resources will also have consequences for safe food processing and preparation.

A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: Preface 1 Water supply and sanitation (WSS) services are one of the crucial elements of basic human necessities , but unfortunately, in large parts of the world, access to these services is far from obvious. The original Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which set targets for 2015, incorporate WSS services, but it seems as if these targets will be difficult to achieve, especially in rural environments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations University (UNU) is determined to address these, and other problems related to human development , by policy-relevant research that may lead to concrete progress. In the case of WSS services, a number of the UNU-institutes across the globe are committed to the topic. In the current research document, UNU-INWEH and UNU-MERIT join forces to investigate potential issues with regard to water and sanitation. UNU-INWEH is the UNU's institute 'specialized in water', addressing the broadest range of development challenges related to water access. UNU-MERIT focuses on the role of innovation and governance in development. The combination of these approaches bears great promise for potential future solutions for the great 'water challenges' facing the world. In particular, as this document argues, technological fixes alone are not enough. They need to be complemented by other forms of innovation, for example in terms of local community organization, and financial innovation. In particular, in addition to providing cheap water supply and sanitation, creating opportunities for credit will make these services affordable for the poorest people living in developing countries. Microcredit and other community savings models are already currently being implemented in the WSS context, leading to concrete and measurable results. UNU, and in particular UNU-INWEH and UNU-MERIT, want to commit themselves to undertaking relevant research in this area, and contribute to implementing this research in specific policy context. Therefore, the current document must be seen as the start of a trajectory of cooperation, which can also be widened to other UNU-institutes, towards implementation of the UNU's goals of contributing to human development and a better world. Preface 1 aBBreViations 4 summary 5 1 introduction 9 1.1 Why focus on rural Water and sanitation ProVision in suB-saharan africa? 9 2 financing rural Water and sanitation ProVision: models and challenges 15 2.1 microfinance: historical oVerVieW 17 2.1.1 microfinance tyPologies 18 2.1.2 microfinance institutions 23 2.2 aPPlication of microfinance to rural Water and sanitation serVices 28 3 a micro financing frameWork for rural Water suPPly andsanitation ProVisioning …