Background: WHO promotes the SAFE strategy for the elimination of trachoma as a public health programme, which promotes surgery for trichiasis (ie, the S component), antibiotics to clear the ocular strains of chlamydia that cause trachoma (the A component), facial cleanliness to prevent transmission of secretions (the F component), and environmental improvements to provide water for washing and sanitation facilities (the E component). However, little evidence is available from randomised trials to support the efficacy of interventions targeting the F and E components of the strategy.
This Personal View supports SDGs 3 and 6 by suggesting a scale-specific approach in which agricultural water use is embedded in a larger systems approach to allow the design of effective incentives to change and optimise agricultural water use.
By analyzing the impact of both public water supply and water handling containers, this paper makes an important contribution to the literature regarding the effectiveness of water supply programs based on the following related outcomes: objective and subjective water quality at the source and Point-of-use (POU), POU water treatment, water transport and storage behavior, and uptake of new, improved water points.
In this review, the authors discuss the drivers, fundamental science, and potential enabling materials for high selectivity membranes, as well as their applications in different water treatment processes.
Background: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health have been understudied among vulnerable populations, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. We aimed to analyse how the pandemic is related to early changes in mental health and parenting stress among caregivers, many of whom are internally displaced persons (IDP), in a conflict-affected setting in Colombia. Methods: For this cohort study, we used longitudinal data from a psychosocial support programme in which 1376 caregivers were randomly assigned across four sequential cohorts.
As sea level rise drives saltwater farther inland, drinking water supplies of some coastal cities will be contaminated. This paper evaluates how climate change is shifting the location of ‘salt lines,’ the zone where coastal fresh water meets the ocean, and implications for drinking water management. It focuses on changes from climate, as opposed to water overuse or water quality mismanagement, and reviews recent literature along three dimensions. Firstly, the paper reviews regulations on salinity in drinking water.
This review article examines observed and projected climate change impacts on water security across the world's drylands to the year 2100.
After a massive disaster, many residents in affected areas are forced to temporarily stay in evacuation shelters. The exact impact of the state of resource supply and infrastructure in evacuation shelters on the health status of evacuees has not been sufficiently studied. Two weeks after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), comprehensive surveillance related to the health status and hygiene level was performed for all evacuation shelters (328 shelters with 46,480 evacuees at the peak) in one of the most devastating medical zones after the tsunami hit the area (Ishinomaki City).
A hydro-economic assessment of the headwaters of the Nile River revealed the upstream-downstream linkages and interconnections among socio-economic development, climate change, and the environment.
Water and wastewater utilities, water and sanitation hygiene (WASH) practitioners, and regulating bodies, particularly in developing nations, rely heavily on indicator microorganisms, as opposed to pathogens, for much of their regulatory decisions. This commentary illustrates the importance of considering pathogens and not relying only on indicator organisms when making decisions regarding water and sanitation, especially with respect to meeting the current targets of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.
