BabyWASH Webinar Recap: Research Questions and Innovations for Multi-Sectoral Actions

On 13th April, the BabyWASH Coalition hosted a webinar highlighting research and programmes in support of BabyWASH and reducing Environmental Enteropathy. If you missed it, you can listen to the recording and view the presentations below.

Meeting Recording: https://wvi.webex.com/wvi/ldr.php?RCID=f854cae0026b3e32e29367f34df23cfb (NOTE: If the links doesn't work the first time, please try to click it again. There is a current glitch in WebEx that sometimes causes this issue.)

• Peter Hynes from World Vision International presented on an integrated project that is planned to begin implementation in Kenya this year. The main goal is to see if an integrated approach that intentionally integrates sectors in the first 1,000 days is more effective than a siloed approach. There is also a separate piece of research that will use the TIPs method to determine what interventions for a 'clean play space' are culturally acceptable. View presentation: WV Kenya BabyWASH.pdf
• Sarah Bauler from Food for the Hungry presented on early-stage research they are doing in the DRC in conjunction with John Hopkins University. This study will determine if BabyWASH interventions can significantly reduce geophagy and thereby reduce EE markers and growth faltering (stunting and underweight) among children less than 24 months of age. View Presentation: FH Baby WASH RCT PP.pdf
• David Nunoo from SPRING Ghana presented on their recently completed WASH 1,000 project (http://bit.ly/2nLMwc3). He highlighted their 4 prioritised interventions for BabyWASH: Disposal of faeces (including child and animal), hand washing, boiling water and clean play spaces. View presentation: SPRING Ghana WASH 1000.pdf 
• Dr. Christine George from John Hopkins University provided links to some of their papers on environmental enteropathy:
  • George et al. Unsafe Child Feces Disposal is Associated with Environmental Enteropathy and Impaired Growth.pdf"We found that households with unsafe child feces disposal practices had a more than 5 times greater odds of having diarrheagenic E coli in the soil in areas where study children were observed playing. This finding provides evidence to support the hypothesis that unsafe child feces disposal puts young children at a greater risk of exposure to enteric pathogens." 
  • George et al. Fecal Markers of Environmental Enteropathy are Associated with Animal Exposure and Caregiver Hygiene in Bangla.pdf"Findings suggest that close contact with animals and caregiver hygiene are significant risk factors for EE in young children."
  • George et al. Geophagy is associated with environmental enteropathy and stunting in children in rural Bangladesh..pdf"Children with caregiver-reported geophagy had significantly higher EE scores...Furthermore, at the 9-month follow-up the odds of being stunted was double for children with caregiver-reported geophagy."
  • Morita et al. Mouthing of Soil Contaminated Objects is Associated with Environmental Enteropathy in Young Children.pdf"Over 82% od children were observed mouthing soil, objects with visible soil, or food with visible soil in the structured observation period...Children observed mouthing objects with visible soil had significantly elevated fecal calprotectin concentrations. There was also a marginally significant association between E coli counts in soil from a child's play space and the prevalence rate of diarrhea." 
• Key acronyms mentioned during the meeting: 
  • GIS – Geographic Information Systems
  • ODF – Open Defecation Free (OD often addressed through CLTS)
  • CLTS – Community led Total sanitation
  • SODIS – Solar Disinfection (method that could be used in place of boiling water)
  • WHO 6 Cleans – Important hygiene considerations during birth: clean hands of the attendant, clean birth surface, clean blade, clean cord tie, clean towels to dry and wrap the baby, clean cloth to wrap the mother
• This document provides a summary of key questions and answers addressed during the meeting.