Resource Center

Background.

Diarrheal disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Displaced populations are especially vulnerable due to overcrowded camps and limited access to water and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk for outbreaks.

On May 2, 2009 an outbreak of typhoid fever began in rural villages along the Malawi-Mozambique border resulting in 748 illnesses and 44 deaths by September 2010.

Diarrhoea is one of the five major causes of death in an emergency setting and one of the three main causes of death in children (Curtis and Cairncross, 2003). In June 2004, an outbreak of shigellosis was confirmed in Abou Shouk camp in the Northern Darfur province of Sudan.

A simple method for filtering water to reduce the incidence of cholera was tested in a field trial in Matlab, Bangladesh, and proved effective.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are amongst the most crucial in humanitarian crises, although the impact of the different WASH interventions on health outcomes remains unclear.

Theories and strategies of social mobilization, capacity building, mass and interpersonal communication, as well as risk communication and behavioral change were used to develop health education and promotion campaigns to decrease and prevent injuries and infectious diseases among the survivors o

There are increasing numbers of people affected by natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and conflict. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions are used in nearly all emergency responses to help reduce disease risk.

In this paper, we argue for including a full hygiene promotion intervention as an early part of emergency response.

Locally manufactured sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) solution has been sold in Zimbabwe since 2010. During October 1, 2011–April 30, 2012, 4,181 suspected and 52 confirmed cases of typhoid fever were identified in Harare. In response to this outbreak, chlorine tablets were distributed.