88 research outputs found
The environmental dimensions of universal access to safe water
No full textThe
world
faces
a
major
challenge
in
adapting
to
a
future
where
demand
for
water
is
accelerating,
but
supply
remains
essentially
fixed
and
increasingly
variable.
Meeting
this
challenge
is
central
to
achieving
the
Sustainable
Development
Goals
(SDGs)
as
water
is
a
common
denominator
linking
health,
food
security
and
nutrition,
clean
energy,
sustainable
cities,
climate
action,
gender
equality
and
the
protection
of
ecosystems.
The
overall
framing
of
the
SDGs,
and
Goal
6
specifically,
marked
a
desire
to
unite
the
hitherto
polarised
spheres
of
environment
and
development,
recognising
the
need
to
both
develop
water
resources
for
domestic
and
productive
uses,
and
to
protect
them
for
current
and
future
generations
(1,
2).
Against
this
background,
Goal
6
‐
Ensuring
availability
and
sustainable
management
of
water
and
sanitation
for
all
by
2030
–
represents
a
hard
‐
won
marriage
of
environmental
and
developmental
objectives.
But
can
we
‘have
our
cake
and
eat
it?’
Unlike
energy,
where
tradeoffs
between
energy
expansion
and
environmental
degradation
can
be
negated
through
renewables,
extending
access
to
water
without
a
commensurate
increase
in
‘efficiency’,
or
reallocation
from
another
use/user,
may
increase
pressure
on
a
finite
resource.
In
a
2050
world
of
almost
10
billion
people
1
requiring
food,
energy
and
drinking
water,
demands
and
trade
‐
offs
will
increas
First a basic service for all – reducing WASH inequalities through more equitable funding and financing strategies
No full textFecal contamination of drinking-water in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: access to safe drinking-water is a fundamental requirement for good health and is also a human right. Global access to safe drinking-water is monitored by WHO and UNICEF using as an indicator “use of an improved source,” which does not account for water quality measurements. Our objectives were to determine whether water from “improved” sources is less likely to contain fecal contamination than “unimproved” sources and to assess the extent to which contamination varies by source type and setting.Methods and findings: studies in Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish were identified from online databases, including PubMed and Web of Science, and grey literature. Studies in low- and middle-income countries published between 1990 and August 2013 that assessed drinking-water for the presence of Escherichia coli or thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) were included provided they associated results with a particular source type. In total 319 studies were included, reporting on 96,737 water samples. The odds of contamination within a given study were considerably lower for “improved” sources than “unimproved” sources (odds ratio [OR] = 0.15 [0.10–0.21], I2 = 80.3% [72.9–85.6]). However over a quarter of samples from improved sources contained fecal contamination in 38% of 191 studies. Water sources in low-income countries (OR = 2.37 [1.52–3.71]; p<0.001) and rural areas (OR = 2.37 [1.47–3.81] p<0.001) were more likely to be contaminated. Studies rarely reported stored water quality or sanitary risks and few achieved robust random selection. Safety may be overestimated due to infrequent water sampling and deterioration in quality prior to consumption.Conclusion: access to an “improved source” provides a measure of sanitary protection but does not ensure water is free of fecal contamination nor is it consistent between source types or settings. International estimates therefore greatly overstate use of safe drinking-water and do not fully reflect disparities in access. An enhanced monitoring strategy would combine indicators of sanitary protection with measures of water qualit
Trends and patterns in marriage and time spent single and sexually active in Sub Saharan Africa: a comparative analysis of six community based cohort studies
No full textOBJECTIVES: To describe trends in age at first sex (AFS), age at first marriage (AFM) and time spent single between events and to compare age-specific trends in marital status in six cohort studies.METHODS: Cohort data from Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi and Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe were analysed. Life table methods were used to calculate median AFS, AFM and time spent single. In each study, two surveys were chosen to compare marital status by age and identify changes over time.RESULTS: Median AFM was much higher in South Africa than in the other sites. Between the other populations there were considerable differences in median AFS and AFM (AFS 17-19 years for men and 16-19 years for women, AFM 21-24 years and 18-19 years, respectively, for the 1970-9 birth cohort). In all surveys, men reported a longer time spent single than women (median 4-7 years for men and 0-2 years for women). Median years spent single for women has increased, apart from in Manicaland. For men in Rakai it has decreased slightly over time but increased in Kisesa and Masaka. The DHS data showed similar trends to those in the cohort data. The age-specific proportion of married individuals has changed little over time.CONCLUSIONS: Median AFS, AFM and time spent single vary considerably among these populations. These three measures are underlying determinants of sexual risk and HIV infection, and they may partially explain the variation in HIV prevalence levels between these populations
Trends in age at first sex in Uganda: evidence from Demographic and Health Survey data and longitudinal cohorts in Masaka and Rakai.
No full textOBJECTIVES: To derive the best possible estimates of trends in age at first sex (AFS) among successive cohorts of Ugandan men and women based on all the data available from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and cohort studies in Masaka and Rakai districts. METHODS: The datasets from the DHS, Masaka cohort and Rakai cohort were analysed separately. Survival analysis methods were used to estimate median AFS for men and women born in the 1950s-1980s and to compute hazard ratios for first sex, comparing later cohorts with earlier cohorts. RESULTS: The DHS and Masaka data showed an increase in AFS in women in the more recent birth cohorts compared with those born before 1970, but this was less apparent in the Rakai data. Successive male cohorts in Masaka appeared first to have an increased AFS which subsequently decreased, a trend that was also apparent (but not significant) in the DHS data. Younger men in Rakai had an earlier AFS than those born before 1980. CONCLUSIONS: Women in Uganda who were born after 1970 have, on average, had sex at a later age than those born earlier. For men, AFS has not changed consistently over the period in question. Differences between Masaka and Rakai may reflect socioeconomic differences. Most of the change in AFS occurred too late to have contributed to the initial decline in the incidence of HIV
Re-examining the 'More People Less Erosion' Hypothesis:\ud Special Case of Wider Trend?
No full textRecent research into natural resource rehabilitation based on in-depth case studies has highlighted situations where population growth and agricultural intensification have been accompanied by improved rather than deteriorating soil and water resources(e.g. Tiffen et al., 1994). Drawing on new case studies in six countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda), this paper examines how widespread are the prospects for positive outcomes of the ‘more people, less erosion’ type
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