* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The Gates’ Foundation conference earlier this week; has sparked an increase in the debate on how to tackle tropical disease with DFID announcing a five-fold increase in its aid for this area last week. Overall, the foundation pledged to give $785 million to support research and development efforts. This is a great step forward. However, investment in measures that stop people getting sick in the first place; is just as important. The Gates’ sanitation initiative: launched last July, offered $45 million for new sanitation technologies; is a drop in the ocean compared to the money discussed on Monday.
Most of these diseases are found in areas with poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene practices. Around half are directly related to unclean water and hygiene. These diseases deform, disable, blind and kill. Proper toilets, an adequate and uncontaminated water supply, and simple hand washing can help prevent them spreading and destroying communities
Working alongside other NGO’s, Tearfund helps to run one of the few health centres in Motot, South Sudan. It offers immunisation, but also explains how a change of hygiene habits can prevent diarrhoea and stop babies getting sick. Families learn that washing their hands with soap after going to the toilet, or before eating, prevents these diseases like bilharzia (which kills 200,000 in Africa each year) from spreading spreading. Latrines too, help to control the flies that carry Trachoma between children’s faces.
In Parwan, in central Afghanistan, a low tech solution has made all the difference. Bio-sand filters are helping to rid stream water of bacteria and worms. One woman explained how this had made a huge difference in her life:
‘We always used to drink from streams and all our children had diarrhoea. This meant high medical bills, because we didn’t understand the problems; the filter is a huge gift as our children are now better’.
In some ways this is stating the obvious. We all reach straight for the bottled water when in unfamiliar territory to reduce the risk of picking up diseases. However, what is less obvious is why there appears to be a false divide between those working on medical solutions and those working on water and sanitation – with an imbalance in funding available as well. At a community level, health workers definitely see these issues as all part of the same problem, so shouldn’t we try to be a bit more “joined up” at the global level as well? It’s a humanitarian priority, and makes economic sense too.
Last month, Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, signed an agreement which sets out how her government, with international donors and other Sanitation and Water for All agencies, will prioritise this crucial area of work. The investment will do much to reduce tropical disease in the country.
How can we encourage more governments, and donors, to get behind this and do the same?
Bill Gates’ Foundation brings much needed positive leadership. The real gain though, comes when sectors work together, joining financial capital and political muscle. It will be vital to have this on the agenda when Gates is next in town.
Laura Taylor, Tearfund Head of Public Policy
