Ethiopia Water Sanitation

Currently, I am in Addis Ababa Ethiopia doing my internship.  I’ve always been interested in the health status of Ethiopians, specifically how environmental factors affect the health of the citizens. One of the greatest concerns is the lack of access to potable water. According to the UNICEF Ethiopia, only 31% of the entire country has access to clean, safe water, and only 18% of households have access to clean facilities.  Ethiopia is among the lowest in the world in coverage levels for proper and safe water sanitation and water quality.  In the previous blog, I discussed the issue of Cholera in underserved populations.  This comes from poor water sanitation and water contamination. Ethiopia experiences frequent outbreaks of water-borne illness, like cholera, in rural and urban areas. One of the contributing factors is the amplified susceptibility to such diseases are the additional conditions of contamination. For example, it is not unusually to find human or animal excrement in the water used for daily living (drinking, washing, and bathing).

Additionally, poor levels of water sanitation and potable water access and coverage have a great social implication. For example, a great amount of time and money is used accessing safe water. In rural areas, women spend hours fetching water. This is physically draining- women carry the water in large clay vase-like pots that the carry for miles- as seen in the picture.  Also, children are sent to get water and also carry it for miles.  If proper water sanitation facilities were established, women and children could spend less time and energy getting water and focus on self-improving tasks like education. In urban areas, I’ve personally experienced the burden of accessing clean water. My uncle had to import water filters from Europe to put in the shower to ensure safe water to bath in. For drinking and cooking purposes, we buy bottled water on weekly bases.  This has been very costly and tedious.

http://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/wes.html

Brochure

The brochure illustrates the history,symptoms, transmission and treatment of Cholera. Cholera is caused by a comma-shaped bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. V. cholerae can be found in contaminated food and water



 www.mercer.edu/enp/MPH2012/Brochure_Etsehiwot_Seifu.pdf

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson is a significant figure in environmental health.  Carson was one of the key figures post WW2 that acknowledged and spoke out about the dangers of pesticides on the earth and to human health. Carson challenged the practices of those in the agricultural sciences and called for a change in the practice.  A pioneer in her time, Carson was one of the few that challenged the government and chemical industries.  She wanted to be sure to bring awareness to the issue that mankind was slowly destroyed the earth in the attempt to dominate nature.  She fueled the concern for the environment, and now there are many social movements that steamed from her aim to save the earth and mankind. (Photo from: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-muckrakers.php/rachelcarson)

Fact Sheet

Since 2000, the incidence of Cholera has increased incrementally, culminating in over 300,000 reported cases world wide and over 7,000 deaths in 2010. The fact sheet I prepared follows the history,
symptoms, transmission and treatment of Cholera, in addition to some healthy tips for travelers visiting areas that have an issue with Cholera. Above, is a picture of young children in Africa drinking from unsafe water. This is one of the main sources of contamination of Cholera.
www.mercer.edu/enp/mph720/Fact_Sheet_Etsehiwot_Seifu.pdf

Second Blog



A choropleth thematic map of Ethiopia using shading to indicate density of population distribution. Additionally, the map shows political boundaries, major cities, and the country capital city of Addis Ababa.

This is an Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) of the Gulf Coast region. Specifically this map shows Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Recently, this type of map became very useful when preparing for and evaluating the recent oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

This a dot-density map of New York City. As a New Yorker, I've always been interested in learning about the great state. The red dots represent New Yorkers who earn less than 35k and have a commute longer than 1hr. 

A Proportional Symbol Map of Africa, illustrating the AIDS estimated deaths, aged 0-49 using statistical information from UNdata.



This is a simple Topographic map of Ethiopia. The country is outlined in red, and the various landforms are expressed with color and relief. I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and I am very proud of my culture and country.

First Blog Assignment

This is an image from Google Earth of the Yakatit Hospital (pinned) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  I was born in Ethiopia, and the country and the culture has played a tremendous role in my life; so much so that I will be doing my summer internship with the CDC/EIS program in Addis. The program will conduct some research with this hospital. I drew a path to the Lion Zoo (photos seen below). This is a zoo, recommended for me to visit when I arrive to Ethiopia. I houses several Lions and it is an excellent example of how the Ethiopians take the correlation of the Emperor Haile Selassie and his title as the Lion of Judah, as a part of the national heritage.

In terms of the Google Earth software, I didn't really have any serious difficulties. Once you get the hang of it (and zoom in to the desired location) you can accomplish nearly all tasks.