rapid assessment of drinking-water quality in the republic of tajikistan

protecting the spring (37.7%). Sanitary inspections confirmed that 44.3% of the springs visited were
not “protected” and thus should not have been included in the RADWQ survey, but when the survey
was designed information on the protection of individual springs was unavailable. Of all the springs
visited, 11.7% were classified in the “medium” or “high” risk-to-health categories, which means they
need particular attention when planning interventions to improve the sanitary conditions of springs.
4.2 Project management and implementation
Implementation of the RADWQ project was facilitated by the managerial and technical support of
the UNICEF country office to the Republican SES, the national implementing agency. A lack of
staff time limited the input and support of the local WHO liaison office.
The initial budget for implementing the RADWQ survey in Tajikistan was too small, but the
UNICEF country office provided additional funding so that the project could be implemented
without delay.
Being away from the workplace and home for weeks or months during the fieldwork poses an
extra burden for team members (and their families). Future RADWQ programmes should include
cost-of-living and travel allowances, to compensate field-team members for extra expenditures
they incur and provide them with an incentive.
Much time and effort was spent translating documents (e.g. handbook, presentations, guidance
notes of the consultant, report forms, field-team reports, final report) from English to Russian, or
vice versa. Most of the translation work was undertaken by the staff of the UNICEF country
office. Future RADWQ programmes should account for translation costs in countries where
English is not the mother tongue.
The international consultants provided excellent training and remote support. Potential areas for
improving training include:
- All guiding documents (e.g. presentations, handbooks, test kit manuals) should be available in
Russian prior to training for the RADWQ study.
- More emphasis should be given to testing equipment under real field conditions before
starting the project.
- More emphasis should be given to practical exercises in using sanitary inspection forms. Not
all of the questions were easily understood, particularly those for water treatment works,
where the terminology was unclear. Most of the field team members had no experience using
sanitary inspection forms.
- More detailed explanations are needed on how to charge batteries.
Comments from the field teams included:
- The timing of the fieldwork could have been better. Field implementation mainly took place
in autumn and winter when weather and road conditions led to problems in accessing the
sampling sites and in maintaining the electricity supply. If future RADWQ surveys are
implemented in winter, the cluster size would need to be smaller than that used in the present
study, particularly for the rural areas.
- Communication between local authorities and field teams was difficult or practically
impossible (such as when field teams needed local advice). Mobile phones would have
improved communications and increased the effectiveness of the fieldwork.
- Supplies of methanol and distilled water were unreliable in the field and not always available
at the rayon SES. Planning of future RADWQ projects in Tajikistan should ensure these
supplies.
- It is recommended that the RADWQ handbook includes a checklist of items needed for
fieldwork, other than the field-testing equipment itself – items such as gloves, lighters, pens,
notebooks, record forms, tissues, sterile distilled water, methanol and sampling bottles.
- In the winter, power was available for only a few hours a day in many regions, which made it
difficult for the field teams to charge the incubator storage battery.
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