Reduce deadly water-born illness in West Africa with safe water
PSI - Safe Water and Oral Rehydration - Benin
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Photo by: PSI
Photo by: PSI
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Project Summary
Benin is a small country of 8.7 million in West Africa. Low levels of education and minimal access to health care are limiting Benin’s development progress. The reality for most Beninese is that access to quality health care is limited as well.
In 2008, PSI/Benin partnered with USAID, UNICEF and Abt Associates to offer an integrated diarrhea treatment and prevention program. This provides a kit that includes OraselZinc to treat diarrhea, and Aquatabs, a chlorine based household water treatment, to purify water at home. OraselZinc is a combination of zinc tablets and oral rehydration salts that shortens the duration of a bout of diarrhea and helps prevent the next onset. Aquatabs are a household water treatment option that disinfects water at the point of use.
Diarrhea prevalence is part due to lack of safe drinking water and in part social factors such as poor hygiene. PSI/Benin’s children’s program addresses both these barriers by creating demand for kits through mass media campaigns and peer education activities that combine messages on safe water storage, breastfeeding and hand washing.
On a recent visit to Houndo village in the region of Zou, Henri Lokossi, PSI/Benin's Program Coordinator for the regions of Zou and Collines, visited the home of Sidonie, a mother of three young children aged 1 to 8. Sidonie expressed her appreciation that OraselZinc is available at her local health center because the Diarrhea Treatment Kit helps keep her family healthy and is easily available. She is eager to show other mothers in her community how to correctly use the product, and emphasizes the dangers of dehydration and the cost benefit of using OraselZinc. Sidione believes that children in her village often fall ill with diarrhea due to lack of access to a safe water source, and OraselZinc will help alleviate the burden of disease in young children in her community.
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In 2008, PSI/Benin partnered with USAID, UNICEF and Abt Associates to offer an integrated diarrhea treatment and prevention program. This provides a kit that includes OraselZinc to treat diarrhea, and Aquatabs, a chlorine based household water treatment, to purify water at home. OraselZinc is a combination of zinc tablets and oral rehydration salts that shortens the duration of a bout of diarrhea and helps prevent the next onset. Aquatabs are a household water treatment option that disinfects water at the point of use.
Diarrhea prevalence is part due to lack of safe drinking water and in part social factors such as poor hygiene. PSI/Benin’s children’s program addresses both these barriers by creating demand for kits through mass media campaigns and peer education activities that combine messages on safe water storage, breastfeeding and hand washing.
On a recent visit to Houndo village in the region of Zou, Henri Lokossi, PSI/Benin's Program Coordinator for the regions of Zou and Collines, visited the home of Sidonie, a mother of three young children aged 1 to 8. Sidonie expressed her appreciation that OraselZinc is available at her local health center because the Diarrhea Treatment Kit helps keep her family healthy and is easily available. She is eager to show other mothers in her community how to correctly use the product, and emphasizes the dangers of dehydration and the cost benefit of using OraselZinc. Sidione believes that children in her village often fall ill with diarrhea due to lack of access to a safe water source, and OraselZinc will help alleviate the burden of disease in young children in her community.
Project Summary
Benin is a small country of 8.7 million in West Africa. Low levels of education and minimal access to health care are limiting Benin’s development progress. The reality for most Beninese is that access to quality health care is limited as well.
In 2008, PSI/Benin partnered with USAID, UNICEF and Abt Associates to offer an integrated diarrhea treatment and prevention program. This provides a kit that includes OraselZinc to treat diarrhea, and Aquatabs, a chlorine based household water treatment, to purify water at home. OraselZinc is a combination of zinc tablets and oral rehydration salts that shortens the duration of a bout of diarrhea and helps prevent the next onset. Aquatabs are a household water treatment option that disinfects water at the point of use.
Diarrhea prevalence is part due to lack of safe drinking water and in part social factors such as poor hygiene. PSI/Benin’s children’s program addresses both these barriers by creating demand for kits through mass media campaigns and peer education activities that combine messages on safe water storage, breastfeeding and hand washing.
On a recent visit to Houndo village in the region of Zou, Henri Lokossi, PSI/Benin's Program Coordinator for the regions of Zou and Collines, visited the home of Sidonie, a mother of three young children aged 1 to 8. Sidonie expressed her appreciation that OraselZinc is available at her local health center because the Diarrhea Treatment Kit helps keep her family healthy and is easily available. She is eager to show other mothers in her community how to correctly use the product, and emphasizes the dangers of dehydration and the cost benefit of using OraselZinc. Sidione believes that children in her village often fall ill with diarrhea due to lack of access to a safe water source, and OraselZinc will help alleviate the burden of disease in young children in her community.
In 2008, PSI/Benin partnered with USAID, UNICEF and Abt Associates to offer an integrated diarrhea treatment and prevention program. This provides a kit that includes OraselZinc to treat diarrhea, and Aquatabs, a chlorine based household water treatment, to purify water at home. OraselZinc is a combination of zinc tablets and oral rehydration salts that shortens the duration of a bout of diarrhea and helps prevent the next onset. Aquatabs are a household water treatment option that disinfects water at the point of use.
Diarrhea prevalence is part due to lack of safe drinking water and in part social factors such as poor hygiene. PSI/Benin’s children’s program addresses both these barriers by creating demand for kits through mass media campaigns and peer education activities that combine messages on safe water storage, breastfeeding and hand washing.
On a recent visit to Houndo village in the region of Zou, Henri Lokossi, PSI/Benin's Program Coordinator for the regions of Zou and Collines, visited the home of Sidonie, a mother of three young children aged 1 to 8. Sidonie expressed her appreciation that OraselZinc is available at her local health center because the Diarrhea Treatment Kit helps keep her family healthy and is easily available. She is eager to show other mothers in her community how to correctly use the product, and emphasizes the dangers of dehydration and the cost benefit of using OraselZinc. Sidione believes that children in her village often fall ill with diarrhea due to lack of access to a safe water source, and OraselZinc will help alleviate the burden of disease in young children in her community.
Issues
• Life expectancy is just 53 years
• Under 5 mortality rate is 148 deaths per 1,000 live births
• High burden of diarrhea related morbidity and mortality
• Only 57% of rural households have access to an improved water source
• Under 5 mortality rate is 148 deaths per 1,000 live births
• High burden of diarrhea related morbidity and mortality
• Only 57% of rural households have access to an improved water source
Goals
PSI is a leading global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV and reproductive health. Working in partnership within the public and private sectors, and harnessing the power of markets, PSI provides life-saving products, clinical services and behavior change communications that empower the world's most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. www.psi.org
Progress To-Date
Since beginning in the fall of 2008, PSI/Benin has sold over 1.1 millions tabs, empowering the Beninese to treat almost 23 million liters of water. Diarrhea treatment kits are widely available, even within rural communities.
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