The International Rescue Committee implements various environmental health programs in 18 countries around the world, focusing on reducing death and diseases caused by poor sanitation, inadequate water supply, unsafe hygiene practices and vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
In every community where it works, IRC strives to improve access to safe water and proper sanitation facilities and ensures that its beneficiaries understand the importance of practicing proper hygiene and having safe water sources.
Since 2001, IRC has been overseeing the overall sanitation activities at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya—considered one of the world’s largest refugee camps and home to some 90,000 Sudanese, Ethiopian and Somali Bantu refugees. In Kakuma, IRC focuses on involving the community in its programs by encouraging household latrine construction, setting up youth hygiene clubs and spearheading indoor residual spraying to prevent malaria.
Within one year after the IRC took over Kakuma’s sanitation activities, more latrines were constructed in the camp and residents became heavily involved in its construction. Before the IRC took over, there were very few latrines—one per approximately 50 people. Now almost every family has their own household latrine and the ratio of people per latrine is 13 to one. Since then, prevalence of diarrhea in the camp dropped by 60%, from 101 cases for every 1,000 residents per week to only 40 cases for every 1,000 residents per week.
IRC’s expertise in environmental health is also critical to saving lives during complex emergency situations such as those brought by calamities. During the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Pakistan in 2005, IRC worked ceaselessly in quake-ravaged areas in the northwest provinces and in Kashmir, providing clean water supply and sanitation facilities to survivors in isolated areas.
When the tsunami decimated villages in Banda Aceh, Indonesia in December 2004, five IRC mobile relief teams with specialists in health, water supply, sanitation and child protection, fanned out across the province by boat, road and helicopter to deliver emergency services to some of the hardest-hit villages.
Working with the medical team, IRC’s Environmental Health staff stocked remote clinics with medicines, suture kits and bandages, constructed emergency sanitation facilities, brought in water and cleaned and disinfected wells. The EH team also distributed food as well water purification tablets.
For further information:
Contacts:
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Dorothy Peprah
Program Manager
Environmental Health Program
International Rescue Committee
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168
Tel: +1-212-551-2731
Fax: +1-212-551-3185
Dorothy.Peprah@theIRC.org
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