Suchergebnisse

PurposeTo document the drinking water component of the humanitarian response to the Great Sumatra‐Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, including a focus on the promotion of household water treatment (HHWT)/safe storage to minimize the spread of diarrhoeal disease.Design/methodology/approachFirsthand accounts of the response effort, interviews, and literature review.FindingsThe combined efforts to mobilize a drinking water response were timely, comprehensive and effective. HHWT/safe storage efforts (other than the continued promotion of boiling) appeared to play only a secondary role in the initial response to the disaster for a variety of reasons.Practical implicationsThe enormity of this disaster and the unprecedented scale of the relief effort limit the broad lessons that can be learned at this time.Originality/valueShows that there is a clear need to continue to take steps to minimize the risks of waterborne diseases following natural disasters, develop and disseminate practical solutions for the special circumstances associated with tsunamis, including saline water intrusion, clarify the conditions under which proven approaches to HHWT may be useful in emergencies and assess their role in the medium‐ and long‐term response, improve water quality and surveillance without compromising emphasis on water quantity, take advantage of the enormous resources committed to the tsunami response to make effective and sustainable improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene in the affected areas, and document experiences from the tsunami response, distil the lessons learned, disseminate the results and develop guidelines to inform future actions.

Establishing and maintaining public water services in fragile states is a significant development challenge. In anticipation of water infrastructure investments, this study compares drinking water sources and quality between Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and Monrovia, Liberia, two cities recovering from political and economic instability. In both cities, access to piped water is low, and residents rely on a range of other private and public water sources. In Port Harcourt, geographic points for sampling were randomly selected and stratified by population density, whereas in Monrovia, locations for sampling were selected from a current inventory of public water sources. In Port Harcourt, the sampling frame demonstrated extensive reliance on private boreholes and a preference, in both planned and unplanned settlements, for drinking bottled and sachet water. In Monrovia, sample collection focused on public sources (predominantly shallow dug wells). In Port Harcourt, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in 25% of sources (N = 566), though concentrations were low. In Monrovia, 57% of sources contained FIB and 22% of sources had nitrate levels that exceeded standards (N = 204). In Monrovia, the convenience of piped water may promote acceptance of the associated water tariffs. However, in Port Harcourt, the high prevalence of self-supply and bottled and sachet drinking water suggests that the consumer's willingness to pay for ongoing municipal water supply improvements may be determined by service reliability and perceptions of water quality.