SaniPath is excited to announce that we have officially established a MoU with the School of Hygiene in Accra to develop a course for students and mid-level environmental health practitioners on the SaniPath Tool. Training of faculty at the School of Hygiene is planned for early 2021. This effort has been coordinated by our African training hub leads at TREND.
UNC Water and Health Conference
Presenter: Habib Yakubu
Periodically, resource-challenged municipal governments in urban areas of low-income countries face decisions on how to set priorities for sanitation investments and focus resources for impact. This is primarily due to their lack of knowledge of existing innovative evidence- based sanitation tools. SaniPath exposure assessment tool evaluates the public health risks from poor sanitation and unsafe fecal sludge management in low-income urban areas. It has been deployed in 43 neighborhoods in 9 cities ; Accra, Ghana; Vellore, India; Maputo, Mozambique; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Atlanta, United States; Lusaka, Zambia; Kampala, Uganda and Kumasi; Ghana. The most recent shit flows diagram indicates that only an estimated 45% of the fecal sludge is treated. Four neighborhoods of varying geographic and socio economic characteristics were selected for the deployment of the SaniPath tool based on extensive engagement with Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA). Trained environmental health assistants collected environmental samples and behavior data from multiple pathways in Moshie Zongo, Dakodwom, Fante Newtown and Ahodwo. The nine pathways investigated were; river water, street food, raw produce, drinking water, bathing water, open drain water, soil, public latrines and floodwater. The unit of analysis of the tool is exposure to fecal contamination. Exposure is a measurement of the average amount of E.coli ingested per month (dose) and the percent of the population exposed to fecal contamination per pathway. The most common dominant exposure pathway for children across all the four neighborhoods was open drains. A large percent of the child population was exposed, ranging from 85% to 95% and a high average dose between 10^6 to 10^8 colony forming units (CFU). For adults, the most dominant pathway varied across all the four Page 50 of 56 neighborhoods. Raw produce was the most common dominant pathway in Moshie Zongo, with 78% of the adult population exposed, and a high dose of >10^7. Bathing water was the most dominant pathway in Fante Newtown; with 81% of the population exposed and a high dose of >10^7. Open drains was the most dominant pathway in Ahodwo and Dakodwom with population exposed >61% and high dose values > 10^6. KMA has used this information to take immediate action in two neighborhoods. Firstly, they investigated the source of contamination of a surface water and sanctioned the property owner who had illegally connected directly a shared latrine’s fecal waste into a community river. Secondly, KMA rolled out a school hygiene program to educate primary school students on good hygiene practices within their school compound, in public spaces around open drains and in school toilets. There are other ongoing plans to use the results to inform their sanitation planning, practice and investments. These actions, show that with commitment and access to evidence based sanitation tools, municipal governments in urban areas are capable of using evidence based sanitation tools to prioritize and focus their sanitation investments.
Benedict Tuffuor, Ato Kwamena Senayah, and Joshua Tetteh-Nortey, partners at TREND Ghana and Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, presented at the Ghana National Sanitation Stakeholders Forum on July 17th, 2019. Benedict presented on the establishment of TREND as a SaniPath Training Hub and the recent work they have conducted alongside metropolitan assemblies. Ato and Joshua provided a presentation on the use of data in sanitation intervention planning and decision making. Data from the 2018 SaniPath Exposure Assessment in Kumasi, Ghana were used to call attention to potential areas for intervention to improve public health by reducing exposure to fecal contamination. These presentations highlighted the capacity building activities of TREND pertaining to behavioral, environmental, and laboratory work involved in conducting exposure assessment data collection and the potential impact of results provided by this type of work. TREND is continuing in their role as a SaniPath Training Hub by disseminating results and sharing the experience of partner organizations to create demand within other municipal assemblies.
