conference magazine - Caribbean Environmental Health Institute

Selikor has implemented this management system first as a pilot
project in one department in 2004. In the second phase an extension
took place to the four operational departments and in 2010 the
staff departments have been added to the project. Daily measurements
of performances of the services are taken. When performances
are noted, through interventions the processes are revised,
and changes are made for the continuous improvement. By delivering
the most effective level of service to clients, innovative solutions
that bring value to the client base, and a properly and timely billing
system, the company will distinguish herself in such a positive way
that it can survive in a complex, competitive, fast-changing economic-social-and
political environment.
Parallel Session 2 - Centers for Disease Control
/ Water Safety Planning (Falmouth
Safe Water Initiative Project: Ministry of Health, Guyana by
Ashok Sookdeo
Within the past decade the prevalence of acute diarrhoeal diseases
in Guyana has increased more than triple fold. Whilst it may be argued
that this is the result of improved surveillance by the Ministry
of Health, the steady annual increase noted within the last ten years
is a justified cause for concern. Moreover, the prevalence rate of
acute diarrhoea in the interior locations of Guyana, where the Amerindians
reside, is alarmingly higher. In most instances the prevalence
of diarrhoea in these remote regions ranges from 50 to 234.
These high figures are likely the result of the reliance on the creeks,
ponds and rivers for drinking water, and poor sanitary conditions.
The prevalence of diarrhoea is high both in the rainy and dry season
and this can be explained by the fact that intense rainfall washes
contaminants into water supplies. Drought conditions diminishes
the availability of fresh water. To this end the Environmental Health
Unit of the Ministry of Health, Guyana, has developed a multipronged
approach that encompasses education and training, advocacy,
social marketing and hygiene promotion to tackle the diarrhoeal
problem.
There are three primary activities developed in this safe water initiative
which commenced in February 2010. Firstly, Environmental
Health Officers, Community Health Workers and other allied health
staff from areas where there is a higher prevalence of diarrhoea are
being trained to assist their community develop good hygiene practices
and to implement initiatives for household water treatment.
Secondly, nine thousand bottles of Chlorosol, a user friendly chlorine
solution developed in Guyana for the treatment of non-turbid
waters, and one million sachets of PuR for the treatment of turbid
waters are being distributed to vulnerable households. The distribution
of PuR is mostly in the interior regions where there is a greater
reliance on river, creek and pond water. Five gallon bottles, funnels,
buckets and cotton cloth which are accessories needed for the use
of PuR are also being distributed. Thirdly, to promote the use of the
water treatment products Chlorosol and PuR and the techniques to
improve the consumption of safe water a public awareness campaign
utilizing television, radio, the press, pamphlets, posters and
community meetings are being conducted. The mass media campaign
is also geared to market Chlorosol as an excellent product for
treating pipe and rain water. Questionnaires will be administered to
households that are provided with both PuR and Chlorosol to assess
the effectiveness of the various components of the safe water
initiative.
Water Safety Planning (WSP) Demonstration Initiative for
Linden, Guyana by Christopher Cox and Savitri Jetoo
Water safety planning (WSP) is a risk assessment and risk management
approach recommended under Chapter 4 of the World
Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality
3 rd Edition (2004) that seeks to enhance the management of processes
that impact the quality of water supply along all steps in the
supply chain; from catchment to consumer. The WSP approach is
now being piloted and implemented within water supply systems in
many parts of the world, and work has been initiated in some Caribbean
countries through the support of regional and international
development partners. This paper describes the project development
methodology and plans for the implementation of a WSP initiative
in Guyana that was led by the Government of Guyana and
the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), with support from the United
States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Caribbean
Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) and the Pan-American
Health Organization (PAHO).
The project sought to demonstrate implementation of a holistic approach
aimed at addressing the key issues of water source protection
and its linkage to drinking water and ambient water quality, and
demonstration of the design of a system-wide water safety plan
(WSP) for water supply and distribution. Guyana’s second-largest
city, Linden, was selected as the pilot community for the project.
The water source protection component of this pilot initiative was
formulated within the framework of the Global Programme of Action
(GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-
Based Sources (LBS) of Pollution, a global agreement committed to
by governments worldwide to improve the health of coastal and
marine waters. Watersheds that drain the areas within and around
Linden constituted the geographic study area for development of a
local-level National Plan of Action (NPA) to minimize pollution into
the ambient environment, with specific emphasis on protection of
source waters used for drinking water supply to the Linden community.
The joint Water Safety Planning (WSP) and National Plan of Action
(NPA) framework for water source protection demonstrated in Guyana
will be of value to other Caribbean SIDS in the development of
management approaches to improve quality of water supply systems.
Waste Water Treatment Plants as a Best Practice for Rural Settlements
on Impervious Soils by LaVerne Walker and Cornelius
Isaac
The Fond d’Or watershed is the second largest in Saint Lucia comprising
10,230 acres. The absence of adequate forest cover, along
with poor waste, land-use, and soil management practices adopted
by resource users, are the main causes of the environmental degradation
and resultant acute water problems experienced in this wa-
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FIFTH BIENNIAL CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM AND EXHIBITION