Research
UNESCO-IHE and partners offering twenty PhD positions on pro-poor sanitation innovation
05 Dec 11
Twenty PhD Positions are available in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded project on pro-poor sanitation innovations for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. UNESCO-IHE, The Netherlands, and eight partners were awarded a US$8 million grant to finance the 5-year capacity building and research project.
UNESCO-IHE and partners offering twenty PhD positions on pro-poor sanitation innovation
02 Dec 11
Twenty PhD Positions are available in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Funded Project on Pro-poor Sanitation Innovations, named “Stimulating local innovation on sanitation for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia”. UNESCO-IHE, The Netherlands, and the following …
New paper on efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) in field conditions
15 Sep 11
This study evaluated the efficacy of ABHS on volunteers’ hands artificially contaminated with Escherichia coli in the presence of dirt (soil from Tanzania) and cooking oil. ABHS reduced levels of E. coli by a mean of 2.33 log colony forming units (CFU) per clean hand, 2.32 log CFU per dirt-covered hand, and 2.13 log CFU per oil-coated hand.
Gates Foundation: US-Ghana team gets grant to transform human waste into energy
15 Sep 11
A US-Ghanaian team has been awarded US$ 1.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a biorefinery that will convert fecal sludge to biodiesel and methane.
India, Bhopal: patterns and determinants of communal latrine usage
12 Jul 11
Provision of communal facilities reduces but does not end the problem of open defecation in poverty pockets, according to a new study in Bhopal, India. Women appear to be relatively poorly served by communal facilities and, cost is a barrier to use by poorer households.
Ghana: gender study links water infrastructure to school attendance
12 Jul 11
A new World Bank study on gender and water access suggests that a 15 minute reduction in water collection time increases the proportion of girls attending school in Ghana by 8-12 percent.
Sanitation: SPLASH research programme approves 5 projects
11 Mar 11
In November 2010, SPLASH, the European Union Water Initiative Research Area Network (EUWI ERA-net), selected 5 projects to be funded under the € 2.2 million SPLASH Sanitation Research Programme.
Hygiene: observed handwashing behaviour in Bangladesh lower than reported
08 Oct 10
A minority of rural Bangladeshi residents washed both hands with soap at key handwashing times, though rinsing hands with only water was more common. To realize the health benefits of handwashing, efforts to improve handwashing in these communities should target adding soap to current hand rinsing practices. This is the conclusion of recent research by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B).
Pro-poor water services: investment scenarios for Kampala, Uganda
26 Aug 10
Water service to the urban poor presents challenges to political leaders, regulators and managers. A new study identifies technology mixes of yard taps, public water points (with and without pre-paid meters) to meet alternative constraints, and reflecting populations served and investment requirements.
Bridging the gap: high science in low-tech emergency settings
26 Aug 10
A new project is trying to find out why there is so little progress in bringing the benefits of new innovations in water supply and sanitation technologies to operations in humanitarian emergencies.
