India, Uttar Pradesh: floodproof handpumps and toilets

Floodproof handpump in Bahraich. Photo: District Administration, District Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India

In Bahraich district of northern Uttar Pradesh, India, handpumps fitted on a raised platform were the only source of drinking water to the 400,000-odd people during floods. The idea for the raised handpumps was promoted by District Magistrate Rigzin Samphel and now serves as a model for other flood prone districts of the state. Samphel also helped to build flood-proof toilets for women in Bahraich.

Every year during the monsoons, when the Ghaghra river brims over, [and] desperate villagers end up drinking turbid floodwater. “The floods inundate all the wells, tube wells and hand pumps. So there’s no drinking water,” says Dharamraj, a 40-year-old farmer in [Sohras] village.

The result: widespread illnesses and even some deaths.

This year has been better.

Exactly 200 flood-prone villages in Bahraich district were fitted with four hand pumps each, the crude water fetching devices mounted on raised platforms rather than at ground level so they wouldn’t be submerged during floods. When the floods first came this year in mid-July, these hand pumps —the only source of drinking water to the 400,000-odd people in these villages — delivered clear and potable water.

Sharing experiences: effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific

Parry, J. Kathy Shordt, K., Cousineau, D. and Wicken, J. (eds) (2010). Sharing experiences : effective hygiene promotion in South-East Asia and the Pacific. Mitcham, Vic,. Australia, Water Aid Austrakia ; Brisbane, Qld, Australia, International WaterCentre (IWC) ; The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 74 p. : boxes, fig. photogr., tab. ISBN 978-1-921499-03-6. Download document in full and by chapter.

This publication searches for answers to the question: What makes hygiene promotion work? The search is guided by two keynote papers and 11 project case studies. Each of the case studies examines hygiene promotion from its own perspective, ranging from large national campaigns to remote island communities. The majority of case studies describe experiences in the Pacific and South-East Asia, while a few highlight different approaches and issues from other regions. The case studies are grouped according to the three main
approaches to hygiene promotion: community-based approaches, campaign approaches and a school focus. Key learnings from the 11 case studies are presented using the FOAMS model for behaviour change:
F: Focus practices and focus groups;
O: Opportunities to practice the behaviour
A: Ability to practice
M: Motivation to practice
S: Sustained behaviour change

Listen below to the key lessons from the book

ADB launches My View H2O: The Asia-Pacific Video Contest

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is launching its second video competition which is open to all aspiring filmmakers across the globe.

The video contest – My View H2O: The Asia-Pacific Video Contest – promotes awareness of the causes, implications and solutions to Asia’s looming water crisis.

Over $10,000 worth of prizes are being offered for the best videos (between 1 minute and 5 minutes long) about water issues in the Asia and Pacific region in three categories:

• Youth (under 21) from ADB Developing Member Countries
• Open (21 and over) from ADB Developing Member Countries
• Open (all ages) from other ADB Member Countries

Among the judges are: the father of Philippine digital filmmaking Khavn dela Cruz, Japanese filmmaker Momoko Ando, Indonesian director Joko Anwar, American film curator Christopher Beaver, Chinese documentary maker Du Hiabin, and Pakistani filmmaker Samar Minallah.

To register applicants need to complete a short online registration form, and upload their videos to YouTube.com or Youku.com.

The deadline for submission of entries is 31 January 2011.

The launch comes in the lead-up to a five-day international conference “Water Crisis and Choices: ADB and Partners Conference 2010” to be held at ADB Headquarters from 11-15 October.

Source: ADB, 07 Oct 2010