Impact on health and health costs due to improved access to safe water, improved sanitation, safe hygiene practices and reduced indoor air pollution: a case study from Nepal

Abstract

The top two killer diseases in the low-income countries is due to exposed risks of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Strengthening Water Sanitation and Hygiene Treasuring Health (SWASHTHA) adopted an integrated approach to reduce the health risks due to IAP and WASH. A combination of three approaches - Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Household Centred Environmental Sanitation (HCES) and School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) was applied for sustainable promotion of IAP and WASH interventions. A Health Impact Study conducted by the project revealed that there was (i) 22.5% reduction in the incidence of water borne diseases, (ii) 82.2% decrease in incidence of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) and eye related diseases and (iii) 94% reduction in the health costs.

Further Information

Collections	Influence and Impact
Issue Date	2013-10
Format	Article
Rights Holders	Practical Action

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