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Ethiopia Project Review - OCTOBER 2018
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The Earth Council Geneva has been in partnership with International Medical Corps (IMC) of Los Angeles since April 2009. Our 9 e-learning courses developed by ECG, which yielded thousands of students in over 80 countries, was then “substituted” by Al Gore, Google etc. and we decided to concentrate our efforts on projects with more tangible results. The decision to focus on “fresh water for children in underdeveloped countries” was embraced both by our Board at a Geneva meeting, as well as by our partner IMC. ECG would help to develop projects and provide financing, while IMC would implement projects in the countries we mutually selected.
After assisting IMC in their efforts to eliminate the Ebola Virus, to bring water to Syrian Refugee Camps and to help Philippine-victims during the first years of our partnership, we worked out a project in 2012 to bring fresh water to schools in Ethiopia, where water is scarce and often contaminated. Since then this endeavor, in a collaborative approach, has been implemented in well-defined steps and resulted in very satisfactory results. We have also been fortunate to enlist the help of both Dow/Dupont as well as IBM Corporation.
The work is in progress, the results are amazing. Here is how it works:
Step one:
For defined areas in the countryside of Ethiopia - together with the Ethiopian government, cement slabs to set up toilets are produced. (First toilets in those areas!) The sanitary issues are addressed with training, training training and education of the hygiene issues.
Step two:
Drilling holes for water in schools. Children walk 10 to 20 hours to schools - carrying 20-30 kg containers with water. Clean water at the school allows much more time for education. Again, training and education is key. Indeed, most schools now have “wash clubs”,
with older kids educating the young ones (and their parents) as to when and how to wash their hands and how to use water.
Step three:
Schools on nutrition for children, once breastfeeding ends. Classes for women shows them how to better use their vegetables, with fresh water, and how to incorporate nuts and fruits to increase balanced nutrition. (And not only small kids love that ’new' food!)
It is all built to ensure sustainability - through training the trainers, explanation and education.
The cycle of the programs relating to the project are extremely well thought-out and executed: a) Toilets to curb unsanitary conditions, b) access to, and understanding of clean water, and consequently c) healthy food preparation in a clean environment.
Local people are trained to teach principles throughout communities to ensure SUSTAINABILITY.
One of the modest hospitals in this area 10 years ago had over 500 in and out patients during this time of the year. At this time they afd down to 25 patients! The death rate through hygiene is falling dramatically.
The Earth Council Geneva is making a difference - albeit small - in the context of humanity. But many many villages are following these programs and enjoy a huge change in their lives.
We are proud to be a partner of the International Medical Corps.
DEMOGRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) FACING NEW OUTBREAK OF EBOLA
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THE EARTH COUNCIL GENEVA is helping our partner "International Medical Corps" with resources to eradicate the decease, particularly by providing fresh water, sanitation and hygiene support.
Ebola is rapidly spreading in the DRC. The Ministry of health (MoH) reported a total of 73 cases of hemorrhagic fever in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, including 46 confirmed as EBOLA and 27 as probable. There have been a total of 43 deaths already, and rapidly expanding.
The International Medical Corps emergency Team is in North Kivu, where most cases have been reported.
The screening and referral units across a dozen health sites are crucial to provide staff with training, resources and infrastructure to safely screen every patient, visitor and staff member with no-touch temperature checks and rapid assessments for Ebola-like symptoms each time they enter a health site.
Timing is of utmost importance, with Uganda and Rwanda in close proximity to the outbreak.
Proper WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE care to further prevent the spread of the virus are provided. Dr. Joseph Fair, member of IMC, has worked with great success in West Africa to eliminate EBOLA earlier, and thus brings the experience necessary to the DRC.
ETHIOPIA PROJECT UPDATE – JANUARY 12, 2018
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Thanks to the support of Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps is currently rehabilitating water points at six primary schools in Damot-Pulasa and Boloso-Sore woredas. IMC decided to focus on providing potable water at schools as children often miss class due to illness caused by diseases associated with unsafe water, or because they need to travel far distances to find and collect water for their families. Our partner IMC is currently installing piping to bring water community-based sources to the schools, where water points are now functional, and training the members of six special committees on how to maintain them.
To help promote behavior change for proper hygiene among the children, the six schools now have water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) clubs. IMC's approach, using games, exercises and role-play, takes advantage of the natural attributes that children have: less knowledge and experience, fewer responsibilities and an eagerness to learn. They have created action plans for their schools and we have noticed a change in student personal hygiene, including the proper utilization of latrines and hand washing after their use. Solid waste is also now being properly managed by installing dust bins. The bins and hand-washing stations have both been made by students using local materials such as bamboo and disused plastic Jerry cans.
In summary, each of the six primary schools identified for improvements in access to safe water, have also seen improvements in terms of attitudes, behaviors and practices related to environmental sanitation and proper hygiene.
- 9,872 students, and 170 faculty and staff, will have access to safe water by the end of the project
- 100 key influential political, community and religious leaders—40 of whom were women—have been engaged through advocacy
- 180 WASH club members and 26 school staff received training and materials
- 56 members of the six committees associated with the primary schools are receiving training on the maintenance of the new safe water systems
WASH club training at Gurmukoysha Primary School in Boloso-Sore
WASH club training and solid waste management at Olola Primary School in Damot-Pulasa
WASH committee training sessions in Damot-Pulasa and Boloso-Sore
Our Board Member Giovanni Picone elected as Mayor of Bacoli, Metropolitan City of Naples. Gianni also holds the title of President Earth Council Italia
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We are delighted to hear of Giovanni's victory in recent's election and are proud to add our congratulations. We look forward for further productive cooperation on our programs and projects.
Ethiopia project with IMC,IBM and DOW: Progress Report from IMC
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Background
The drought caused by the Indian Ocean Dipole is proving to be the worst in Ethiopia for the past 50 years, particularly devastating as it follows last year’s El Niño drought. Close to 6 million people are in need of food and water. The Somali region of southern Ethiopia is the most critically affected with 1.2 million people (31% of the population) facing crisis. It has reported an estimated 49,000 severe acute malnutrition (SAM) cases, about one sixth of the total 300,000 across Ethiopia. The present situation is expected to worsen as the Belg and gu/ganna/sugum rains are late, weak and erratic, and the October-December Deyr or short-rains season brought severely low levels of rainfall to the region. There is therefore a critical water shortage in Somali region and a total of 185 woredas need water trucking. Unsafe water has led to recent reports of 15,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea, and cases of meningococcal meningitis, measles, dengue fever, scabies and chikungunya are widely reported and spreading.
Admissions to care for severe acute malnutrition, as well as the need for food assistance and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support in agricultural and pastoral areas are expected to increase in the months to come. For example, Gambella region expects 90,000 or more new refugees from South Sudan; as the camp at Nguniyel is already full, UNHCR and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) are opening a new camp in Benishangul Gumuz. Somali region’s Erer and Liban zones also show significant nutritional, WASH and health needs.
With the financial support of the Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps has worked in Ethiopia since 2003 to strengthen local capacity to deliver services related to infectious disease and HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, nutrition, psychosocial support, maternal and child health, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and livelihoods. International Medical Corps is responding with emergency health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene in the host communities within the Somali (6 woredas), Oromia (20 woredas), and Southern Nations region (10 woredas)—areas at the epicenter of the drought and food security crisis.
Earth Council Geneva/ International Medical Corps Respond
With the donations from Earth Council Geneva, International Medical Corps will address the immediate water-related needs and challenges faced at the schools and health facilities and neighboring community within the targeted woredas. This project directly complements International Medical Corps’ resilience and sanitation marketing efforts in Wolayita, which reach the same local communities with nutrition, primary health care, and livelihoods services, and builds on efforts previously supported by Earth Council Geneva, DOW Chemical and IBM to increase access to clean water and safe hygiene practices, by meeting additional water needs in the same targeted communities.
To ensure the sustainability of the project, 42 local representatives from the WASH committee are being trained on water system management and maintenance to assume ownership and sustain the established water systems at the six facilities. Additionally, teams will raise awareness on positive WASH-related behaviors among the community members through the distribution of culturally appropriate information, education and communication materials. The materials will provide information on the benefits of safe drinking water and safe water management, latrine use for defecation, and the most critical times for washing hands to further decrease the number of WASH-related diseases. International Medical Corps will also coordinate with local government offices and schools so that the program is implemented in a sustainable manner. For example, local community members will be directly involved throughout the project, participating in continual monitoring and follow-up to ensure positive long-term WASH results.
Further progress will be posted on this website - donations are most welcome to save as many children as possible - together!
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