Gates Foundation to still fund COVID-19 vaccines despite SA Variant news

By Esther Nakkazi

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has expressed disappointment at the news of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca which appears to provide no measurable effect on mild or moderate disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 variant of the virus first identified in South Africa, known as B.1.351. But has promised to fund vaccinations in poor countries.

“This is deeply disappointing news. We’ve all been spoiled lately by how good the news on vaccine science has been,” says Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, which is running a trial of the vaccine in South Africa, released early data from a study of 2,000 patients aged between 18 and 65 years showing a substantial drop in the vaccine’s neutralizing activity against the South African variant following the administration of two doses. The vaccine demonstrated high efficacy against wild-type SARS-CoV-2.

Researchers noted that the study did not assess the vaccine’s efficacy against severe disease from the variant. So at the moment, there is no data if this vaccine could protect against severe or fatal disease caused by the variant.

Several safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 have been developed within the space of only 10 months—the fastest humans have ever gone from identifying a novel virus to inoculating against it. With several additional vaccines coming through the final phases of clinical trials, including those from Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, we are still on a trajectory to get everyone protected against COVID-19. It will take time for doses of those vaccines to become available, following regulatory approvals and manufacturing and scale-up.

“The World Health Organization and national health authorities will determine the potential public health
value of this vaccine in South Africa and other countries and make decisions about where and how it
can be used,” says Suzman.

However, the Foundation credits the South African researchers for generating valuable new knowledge that will enable more targeted interventions, helping governments make important decisions about vaccine rollouts and better protect their people. A version of this vaccine is being rolled out in India, where B.1.351 hasn’t yet been detected.

The philanthropy, promises to continue to do our part to keep up the momentum. Building on our
longstanding partnerships, we are working with governments, multilateral organizations, and private
companies to determine how to respond to the latest data said the Gates Foundation.

“We will use our funding commitments of more than $1.75 billion to help accelerate the development and distribution of vaccines that are optimized for lower- and middle-income countries and are effective against the variants.”

The Foundation committed to making new investments in treatments and diagnostics because we’ve learned that research and development on these important tools must accelerate as additional variants emerge.

DR Congo's President Tshisekedi assumes the Chair of the African Union

H.E. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will assume the Chairship of the African Union (AU), on the first day of the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

H.E. President Tshisekedi will succeed his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, as the organization’s rotating chairperson.

While the official theme of the year 2021 is “Arts, Culture, and Heritage: Levers for Building Africa We Want,” the focus of the AU will also be on addressing the devastating impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the continent, which has disproportionately affected the lives and livelihoods of the African people.

President Tshisekedi: “Despite country and continent-wide control measures, the impact of COVID- 19 has imposed enormous human, financial and socio-economic costs on the African People. This crisis, however, also gives us the chance to re-examine our socio-economic priorities and work towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth which allows African women and girls to contribute to our societies to the fullest. 

We must be more self-reliant and find collective solutions to our problems and start an "African Renaissance" as outlined in the seven Aspirations of our AU Agenda 2063: the “Africa We Want.” We must seize the moment and unite to build the “Africa We Want” and an African Union at the service of the People.

“To that end, the Democratic Republic of Congo, during its term as President of the African Union, has chosen to elevate African voices. We will focus on sustainable development by and for the African People. We will work to ensure their integral well-being, peace and security, health care, and strong response against COVID-19, as well as food security.

Agricultural transformation, education, gender equality, climate justice, the free movement of people and goods, and freedom of speech and religion, as well as the enhancement of our common heritage: languages, and memorial sites of the history of African people, will also be at the center of our agenda,” the president added.

“For all of us, the COVID-19 outbreak has been a stark reminder that viruses and diseases know no from disease, and to eradicate disease, as we have done with wild polio in Africa, must sit centre stage in our vision for a prosperous African Union at the service of the People. Because there is no prosperity or well-being without health,” he concluded.

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USD$30m emergency loan facility for private primary health care providers in Africa during COVID-19 unveiled

By Esther Nakkazi

A USD$30 million new emergency loan guarantee facility for private primary health care providers in Africa is available to private, small, and medium health care providers in Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda during COVID-19.

The loans will support private sector healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa to continue offering essential health services, including malaria treatments, to more than five million Africans.

The facility was created by the Health Finance Coalition, a group of leading philanthropies, investors, donors, and technical partners focused on mobilizing significant private investment to achieve transformative healthcare impact in Africa.

“COVID-19 has posed significant challenges for small and medium-sized private sector health facilities in Africa. Investing in these important health systems can help countries in sub-Saharan Africa withstand the current pandemic while supporting millions of people who rely on these facilities,” said Nafisa Jiwani, Managing Director, Health Initiatives, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

Private sector healthcare providers deliver nearly 50 percent of all healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa, including life-saving interventions such as early malaria diagnosis and treatment, antenatal care, and routine vaccinations.

If left unaddressed, these vital health needs could overwhelm already overburdened health systems and add to the loss of life during the pandemic. Projections in 2020, for example, estimated that moderate disruptions in treatment-seeking could lead to as many as 100,000 additional malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.

“This facility is one of the first solutions of its kind to address the twin health and economic crises facing the private health sector in Africa due to COVID-19. We hope it will spark a broader response using creative finance solutions to save lives from malaria and address Africa’s most urgent health needs,” said Martin Edlund, the Chief Executive Officer, Malaria No More.

As countries have shut down sectors of their economies and asked citizens to remain at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, all health providers have seen a decrease in demand for services. For private healthcare providers, this also means decreased revenues, putting them at risk of closing during a time when access to care is already a challenge.

The Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative is one of the first initiatives to address the economic crunch that the private health sector in Africa is facing due to COVID-19. A catalytic $700,000 investment by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) enables a $17.7 million loan guarantee from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and $1.5 million in philanthropic funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, and the MCJ Amelior Foundation. Together, this effort unlocks more than $30 million in loans to SME health providers. Additional support comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Center for Innovation and Impact (CII).

“With COVID-19 putting tremendous financial pressure on health budgets across Africa, we need creative financing solutions to help governments achieve their ambitious health goals. This initiative, which supports private health providers through a blend of grants and return-seeking capital, is a leading example. I hope to see strategies such as this one scaled up in the months to come,” said Ray Chambers, WHO Ambassador for Global Strategy and Health Financing and Chair, the MCJ Amelior Foundation.

“Private sector healthcare providers are critical to safeguarding health and well-being. Financial support from Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative will enable them to support the COVID-19 response and continue to provide essential health services that keep people and communities healthy,” said Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President for Health, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Of the five million patients that the loan facility could impact, almost 3 million are low-income patients, and approximately 2.4 million are women and 1.4 million are children, who are disproportionately at risk of malaria and other infectious diseases.

The loan facility will be managed by Malaria No More and loans will be administered through the Medical Credit Fund (MCF), a non-profit health investment fund. 

Loans are expected to average $17,000 per provider to help stabilize operations, buy essential medical equipment including personal protective equipment, and finance small-scale construction to protect patients from COVID-19 infection.

MCF’s partner organization SafeCare, in collaboration with PMI, will provide training materials to facilities on how to continue providing routine services safely during the pandemic.

“This initiative multiplies impact through its blended finance structure and collaborative efforts. Through the cooperative effort between the Skoll, Rockefeller and MCJ Amelior Foundations, this loan guarantee leverages philanthropic capital to unlock additional, essential funds to preserve vital health services throughout Africa," commented Bruce Lowry, Senior Advisor, Skoll Foundation.

“Many of our clients are under increased pressure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and see patient visits and revenues decrease. This agreement helps us to further support health entrepreneurs so they can continue providing the services needed to keep their communities healthy,” said Kennedy Okong'o, Director East Africa, Medical Credit Fund.

An initiative like this is urgently needed to save lives and livelihoods as COVID-19 persists on the continent. Private health facilities provide 50% of all health services in Africa, yet many of these providers are at risk of closing due to lost revenue amid the pandemic. 

Keeping PHPs open is critical for ensuring Africans can safely access essential health services during the pandemic and preventing a resurgence of other deadly diseases. It also is important for helping local economies recover by ensuring these businesses can continue operating.

For more information or to apply for a loan visit: www.medicalcreditfund.org

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A tribute to two great advocates, story tellers and mentors to many

By Esther Nakkazi

It is not possible to honor all the health workers, advocates, and media personnel who have died of COVID-19 but telling the story of Dr. Charles Kiggundu and Patrick Luganda may serve as a tribute to them and others.

Both Dr. Charles Kiggundu and Patrick Luganda were consultants in their fields, advocates of difficult topics, mentors, passionate with their jobs, high achievers, great communicators, and storytellers. They also, unfortunately, lost their lives to COVID-19.

Dr. Charles Kiggundu, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist was born in Kasiso, Kasana in Luwero district and died on 29th December 2020, aged 55 years.

I last talked to him on 26th September 2020, when the Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) in partnership with the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Uganda (AOGU) held a science media Café on safe abortion in health care.

Dr. Kiggundu was one of the speakers at this Café and he had been a speaker on many more and others which were in commemoration of International safe abortion day of September 28th.

I was the moderator but it was initiated by one of the HEJNU members and it was Saturday so I was a bundle of nerves about timekeeping, speakers, and HEJNU members showing up. Dr. Kiggundu was already at the venue. He had arrived over 30 minutes early.

He was his usual self talking about how COVID-19 had affected reproductive health, giving insight about different topics as the questions were flowing from whoever came before the function started, and giving story ideas about his favorite topic; access to safe abortion. He was brilliant, easy to talk and he liked to tell stories to illustrate a point.

Many words have been used to describe Dr. Kiggundu; CEHURD where he was a board member described him as an advocate for post-abortion care, health justice, and reproductive health rights. Asia Russell an advocate for health justice and access to treatment for all tweeted;

From a media perspective, he was a devoted, unselfish individual always ready to share his knowledge and a fierce advocate for maternal health rights and for his patients. Due to personal values, religion, beliefs, and how society will judge most people will steer clear of discussions around topics like abortion, GMOs especially with the media.

Dr. Kiggundu was never afraid to speak about access to safe abortion. He was friendly with everyone and thrived in leadership roles with a down-to-earth style that made us in the media comfortable asking about anything in his specialty.

Vivian Agaba a journalist and member of HEJNU described Dr. Kiggundu as very knowledgeable and passionate about maternal and child health. “Most of the times when I was writing health-related articles regarding maternal and child health for the New Vision, he was always willing to share information.”

“Some times, I would interview him from Kawempe hospital many times sparing about 30 minutes of his precious time with his patients. He became a good friend, says Agaba.

Losing Dr. Kiggundu causes direct and indirect harms that are impossible to overstate said Rusell.

“His death is a blow not just to us but to everyone who has drunk from his wealth of wisdom, including several civil society organizations, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, and women's movements. That he will be greatly missed is an understatement,” said a statement from CEHURD.

In the world scientists like Dr. Kiggundu are gems, hard to come by so losing him is going to create a void in that space that is very hard to fill. He delivered on his promises, served above self and we shall greatly miss him.

Dr. Kiggundu's last post on his Linkedin account says; “Let us work to leave a mark. Work to be well remembered ever. Leave society better. Don’t just do what people will quickly applaud. Do good.” #RIPCharlesKiggundu

Patrick Nkono Luganda: “Many agree Patrick Luganda, will be remembered as the father of agriculture journalism in Uganda, climate journalism in greater horn of Africa and mentor of many senior journalists,” said an article published in the Sunday Vision.

Patrick Luganda was a science journalist, consultant, trainer, farmer, and co-founder of many media organizations including Network of Climate Change journalists in the Greater Horn of Africa (NECJOGHA).

He was the Executive director of EBAFOSA /UNEP that seeks to combat food insecurity, climate change, ecosystems degradation, and poverty in Africa using an innovative approach. He was born on 8th October 1957 and died on 16th December 2020.

I first met Patrick in 2006 in Nairobi at a training workshop organized by the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ). We were both mentees and paired with mentors. I had almost just started out and didn't know much about science journalism but ready to learn, to be mentored, most of us were and so was Patrick even if he already was a seasoned, award-winning journalist.

In 1999, Patrick co-won the A.H. Boerma Award worth $10,000 and an all-expenses-paid visit to Rome to receive the Award with his spouse. He reported extensively on the cassava mosaic viral attack causing food insecurity for thousands of people and his efforts also resulted in a rapid technology transfer that restored the food production of cassava.

“Mr. Luganda's concrete and descriptive way of featuring policy and decision-makers, research and beneficiaries on an equal basis, makes him a journalist of outstanding caliber. His weekly programs on Radio Uganda intended for rural communities, have encouraged this sector to apprehend and implement improved agronomy methods.”

During the WFSJ mentoring program, Patrick was never assuming, as much as he knew so much and was willing to share his knowledge he also pretty much followed through with the program that lasted for four years.

I have already talked about difficult topics in the media and climate change is one of those but Patrick easily trained, advocated, and simplified it to a level that even those who did not care listened.

He was passionate about innovations in agriculture and trained, preached, and lived them practically. He loved to tell stories, use illustrations as he was training, and speak in different languages that simplified science and technology.

Patrick was such a great speaker on climate change he received the loudest applause on any panel I have participated in at a conference. So in 2009, we both were panelists on a roundtable about climate change at the 7th World Conference of Science Journalists in London. I had just returned from a year-long fellowship in the USA and was very confident and pleased with my submissions.

When I listened to Patrick on that panel there was no doubt about the passion, energy, knowledge, and ability to deliver and the audience, of course, reacted with a big applause. As we stood outside after the panel he was flooded for contacts. When I reminded him about that experience he encouraged me - ‘you will get there’ and laughed off.

Patrick loved his family. I don’t remember ever having a conversation that did not meander to the kids, his parents, or family. Losing him is going to create a void that is pretty hard to fill in the science journalism profession. #RIPPAtrickLuganda

http://hejnu.ug/a-tribute-to-two-great-advocates-story-tellers-and-mentors-to-many/

Triplets born during the pandemic

By Patricia Nakyalu and Esther Nakkazi

On the 28th May 2020 during the pandemic, Brown, named after its color, started to show signs that she was going to give birth. She was crying endlessly in low tones, looked weak and exhausted, and was breathing heavily.

Brown and Black were both adopted by Marcel. One evening he heard crying puppies in a nearby bush. He checked to find two puppies. They were dirty and infested with fleas but they were well fed.

He picked them up and brought them to the house. We gave them a clean bath and he arranged to have a veterinary doctor come and immunize them. The following evening a fatty, big dog came around and we knew that was the mother.

Brown and Black were domesticated so they were not wild anymore. Marcel made a house for them and we would cook for them - mostly posho, rice with silverfish (Mukene), chicken legs, or beef bones.

Their mother who we named mother dog was still a bit of a wild dog so she would go in and out of the compound as she wished. She came back every evening and slept on the verandah. Although mother dog’s movements were not restricted we realized that she enjoyed staying near her children. So we started feeding her too. She would come to the compound during meal times. We then added her to the pack.

Mother dog and her puppies now grown-up dogs have been living with us for four years. During this time she had triplets but we gave them away. Her daughter Brown also got pregnant and on 28th May she downloaded six beautiful puppies.

The first signs of the puppies coming were after the dog walk in the morning. Brown was very exhausted. She started making funny noises so Uncle Marcel decided to carry her to the dog house where we had prepared some clean old clothes in a comfortable bed to deliver her puppies.

At exactly 2: 48 pm, 28th May, Brown started giving birth, we all watched in awe and pity because she seemed to be in pain breathing fast and crying. After what seemed like an eternity to her but just two hours all the six puppies were born.

She was a protective mother. If someone got near her puppies she would let out a warning low bark as if to say back off. We started feeding her two meals a day because she was a mother and needed extra food to produce milk for her puppies. In the morning rice and silverfish (Mukene) and the usual posho and fish in the evening.

The puppies were cute and lovely. Their eyes were closed all the time. They had a variety of colors - two were pure black, one looked like Brown, another one had no resemblance to her at all. We think the father of the puppies is Black because they all have a white tip on the tail like Black except for one of them.

A week after they were born I went to check on them in the morning. Three of the puppies were dead. It was a very despondent moment for me because it was like losing family members. Uncle Marcel thought that the puppies might have died because they were not vaccinated.

So the surviving three were vaccinated immediately. We also gave them names - ‘booze’ names. The triplets who are all female were named; Miller Lite, Brandy, and Vodka. After a month they started going for dog walks. They were afraid of everything.

When they saw a bodaboda they would stop walking, they were afraid of humans and they would get tired. They would freeze and not move when a bicycle was passing by. Just stare at it until it disappeared at the end of the road.

On many occasions, Marcel had to carry at least two of them back home because they were just tired and could not walk back to the house. The puppies and Brown continue to have a breakfast meal - rice and Mukene so that they grow healthy and Brown has to rebuild her body. They also eat an evening meal with the rest - Black and Mother dog now ‘Oma’ - grandma in Dutch.

They have grown big so fast. It was just months back that they could not even open their eyes and only cried when they were hungry. Now they understand Marcel and play some tricks. They all look different and have personal characters.

Miller is the ‘blonde’ gal both in looks and brains. She has greenish eyes, has white, brown color fur. She has a lot of fur on her outer coat which makes her look like a typical crossbreed. She is the cutest by far, the friendliest but the most stubborn and a 'crying baby'.

Miller loves food but has no brains to fight for it. When you save a bone for her and quietly call her to eat she will abandon it and follow you thinking that you have an even bigger bone. That way she loses her bone to Black who is fierce while fighting for food and anything.

Miller is the one everyone comments about that she looks ‘exotic’ on the dog walks and they ask Uncle Marcel to give her to them. Too bad she does not hear what they say she would walk over her sisters. Miller loves playing with Vodka but then she will start crying like they are killing her until we intervene.

Vodka looks exactly like her Mother Brown. She has grown so big sometimes it is difficult to know who is mother or daughter. Vodka is peaceful. She is scared of everything which makes her insecure but that means she can also snap and bite you because she thinks you want to hurt her. Vodka is also the most destructive, she hides in a corner, stays quiet, and will chew at your shoes or slippers until she shreds them to pieces.

In a dog pack, there has to be a leader. In this case the only male, Black is the head. Black is the one who will attack anyone who gets into the compound. He is so fierce he will attempt to jump and bite if you don’t hold his chain tight during the dog walk. He is also the most obedient dog to his master.

When Marcel leaves the house, Black sits by the gate and peeps at every car driving by. He sometimes refuses to eat until he comes home. When he gets home, Black usually licks his beard and shakes his tail so hard running around him as if to say I am so happy you are back.

Brandy on the other hand loves to be the one in charge and sometimes tries to take Black’s position in terms of rank and has been badly been bitten a few times by Black. Brandy has a dark brown color that almost looks like her granny (Oma) but not exactly. She resembles black too. She loves to play and will be the one to dare steal a bone from Black who will fight her. She also loves fighting over food with her sisters during the morning meal. She will try to chase and bite Vodka and Miller so that she eats everything. They are clearly afraid of her at mealtimes.

Brandy loves climbing up on the chairs on the verandah ‘playing king of the jungle’ and looking down at Vodka and Miller who then fight to try to climb up too but never get a chance. She is playful but hates water. When the dogs are taking a shower and you hear the loudest cry that will be Brandy. Even when we smear them with lotion after bathing, Brandy screams like it is so unpleasant.

So which of the triplet puppy gals do you pick; Brandy - 'queen of the jungle', Miller -' the blonde gal', or Vodka 'the mischievous'?

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First medical training school to be opened in Sudan rebel-held territory next year

By Esther Nakkazi 

Last week Dr. Tom Catena the only surgeon for approximately 1.3 million people in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, Sudan announced the opening of a medical training school next year in the rebel-held territory.

“There has been a tremendous upgrade in medical capacity over these past 13 years but despite these efforts, there remains a huge deficit in medical personnel in Nuba. We now believe that the only way to address that huge shortfall is to open a training school here, and train our own, nurses, midwives and clinical officers,” said Dr. Catena during a virtual World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global healthcare community dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices. 

“We are now in the early planning stages of this school, and hope to have it up and running within the next year.” 

The medical school will be attached to the Gidel Mother of Mercy Hospital, which he helped establish and open in 2008 and remains the only major provider of medical care in the Nuba mountains region. The hospital has been relying on heroic on-the-job trained staff but now wants to have fully trained professionals. 

‘Dr. Tom’ as he is affectionately known, has served in Africa for more than 20 years and works and lives in rebel-held territory, around the size of Austria, which has known civil war, starvation, and genocide ever since the founding of the Sudan republic in 1956. 

Funds to run the Gidel Mother of Mercy Hospital mostly come from individual donors, well-wishers, except for donations of food, vaccines, and TB drugs but they don’t receive anything from the International donor community which has made them rather frugal in their operating expenses. 

It will require about USD $800,000 to run the 435-bed hospital and the training school for a year and they would provide most of the basic services and low cost. By way of comparison, a similar-sized hospital in Dr. Catena’s home area in the US would have an annual operating budget of 400 times this amount of money annually which if availed to the Gidel Mother of Mercy Hospital and training school would be sufficient for the next 400 years. 

“Good health care, education, do not need to be prohibitively expensive. We feel that we can provide a good number of services at a very low cost …. perhaps, the problem isn’t lack of money, but just a gross maldistribution of resources,” said Dr. Catena. 

Although life in Nuba has improved due to a cessation of hostilities however the Nuba are people deeply traumatized due to centuries of oppression and marginalization at the hand of cards emulate. 

The training it is believed will uplift the respect of the Nuba people who have proven themselves as tough warriors over the years but have been humiliated, degraded, and grown accustomed to being treated as second class citizens in their own country with little hope that they will be treated as the equals be the Northerners. 

“We encourage our staff, that as a way to get respect, will be by using their intellect and skill to show their detractors that they are the equal of anyone,” said Dr. Catena. “It is our sincere hope that our initiatives to train our staff will put them on an equal footing with health practitioners anywhere in the world.” 

The hospital is already receiving patients from as far as Khartoum. “We hope that with our clinical school will become a training center for all of Sudan, both students and patients will come to us seeking care. It is much more difficult to despise someone if he or she is the one performing your surgery or diagnosing your complex medical problems,” he said. 

“It is our dream that one of the dividends of a first-grade hospital and training program will bring peace in our troubled region,” concluded Dr. Catena at the WISH conference. WISH is an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and is under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, its Chairperson. 

https://www.virtualwish2020.com/conference/keynote-speaker-dr-tom-catena

Women and Water: Collecting water causes serious injuries says study

By Esther Nakkazi

Collecting water can cause serious injuries like falls, traffic accidents, animal attacks, and fights, which can result in broken bones, spinal injuries, lacerations, and other physical injuries, particularly for women living in low and middle-income countries according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The research titled ‘In pursuit of ‘safe’ water: The burden of personal injury from water fetching in 21 low-income and middle-income countries’ published in the journal BMJ Global Health also says women are also most likely to sustain such injuries – highlighting the social and gender inequities of a hidden global health challenge. 

“Millions of people don’t have the luxury of clean drinking water at their home, and they face many dangers before the water even touches their lips. We wanted to better understand the true burden of water insecurity," says Dr Jo-Anne Geere, from UEA’s School of Health Sciences.

Dr. Geere says most of the global research on water has largely focused on scarcity and health issues related to what is in the water, but the burden and risks of how water is retrieved and carried has been overlooked until now.

The new study was led by Northwestern University in the US, in collaboration with UEA, the University of Miami, and the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network (HWISE RCN).
 

The research team used a large global dataset to understand what factors might predict water-fetching injuries. The work draws on a survey of 6,291 randomly selected households across 24 sites in 21 low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

They found that 13 per cent of the respondents reported some sort of injury while collecting water, and that women were twice as likely to be hurt as men.

 “Thirteen percent is a big number, but it is probably an underestimate. It’s highly likely that more people would have reported injuries if the survey had more detailed questions," says Dr. Sera Young, from Northwestern University.

“This reinforces how the burden of water scarcity disproportionately falls on women, on rural populations, and on those who do not have water sources close to home. It highlights the importance of safe interventions that prioritise personal physical safety alongside traditional global indicators of water, sanitation, and hygiene,” says Prof Paul Hunter, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.

The researchers say that keeping track of such safety measures — in addition to the usual measures of water quality and access — could help better assess progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6.1, which sets out “to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all” by 2030.

“It seems likely that water-fetching can contribute considerably to the global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) burden, but it usually goes unmeasured because we typically think about access and water quality. It is, therefore, a greatly underappreciated, nearly invisible public health challenge," Dr. Vidya Venkataramanan, also from Northwestern University.

“It’s really important that data on water-fetching injuries are systematically collected so that we can know the true burden of water insecurity. Currently, all of the broken bones, spinal injuries, lacerations, and other physical injuries are not accounted for in calculations about the burden of water insecurity.”

Ref: https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e003328