BACKGROUND

Major components of this project are implemented by IWMI (Health Impact of small reservoirs umbrella for small reservoirs planning for health); CPWF-BEAF (The health components of Small multi-purpose reservoir ensembles); WHO (Assessing health impacts of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso); IDRC (Health impact assessment of a small dam in Morocco and SIMA/DGIS (Small dams and malaria in Ethiopia).

The research questions

• Is there a difference between prevalence of certain key diseases (especially malaria, schistosomiasis) in human population living near to and further away from a small reservoir?
• Is there a difference between abundance of vectors (mosquitoes) and intermediate hosts (aquatic snails) near small reservoirs and further away?
• Are these health risks, if related to small reservoirs, affecting the entire community to the same extent?
• What are the health benefits of (using) small reservoirs and do these impact the same people as the water-related diseases? What is the impact of small dams on rural livelihoods?
• What are the constraints or problems due to the operation and functions of the small dam?
• Can the planning and management of small reservoirs be optimized in such a way that health benefits are enhanced and health hazards reduced? How to better capitalize on (optimize) the small dams?
• How can the users be best involved in planning and management of small reservoirs?
• What is the best methodology to assess the small reservoirs in a way that health benefits are enhanced and health hazards are reduced?

Objectives

• Collect primary and secondary information on various health impacts of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso to better understand the impacts and help identify tools for improved management
• To develop a participatory methodology based on an eco-health approach and trans-disciplinary research to describe and understand the impact of the Asgherkiss small dam on the well-being of its nearby community in Southern Morocco.
• To facilitate and support the Asgherkiss community to identify potential interventions at their small dam's ecosystem aimed at improving their livelihoods.

Methods

• In Burkina Faso, the field studies take place in two areas: Kaya, a rural area north of Ouagadougou, and Koubri, an almost peri-urban area south of Ouagadougou. In each area several reservoirs have been selected and two primary schools, one close to and the other far away from a small reservoir.
• In Morocco one small dam is studied in detail, with its upstream and downstream communities.
• In Ethiopia six dams have been selected and sampling takes place around the dam, the downstream irrigated and seepage area plus in the village nearest to the dam.
• Different sets of methodologies are applied in an overall ecosystem approach to human health (EcoHealth). The implementation of the project promotes a holistic view mainly based on community participation.
• It adopts a trans-disciplinary approach to research that integrates gender and equity concerns.
• An assessment of water quality then includes laboratory analysis (chemical, physical and biological components) as well as focus group discussions on perceived qualities (appearance, smell, taste). The various results are compared and developed into indicators.
• Participatory observation, village transect walks, matrix scoring, seasonal calendars, village mapping and interviews supply additional information on e.g. upstream pollution, water use activities, health and hygiene behavior, benefits, constraints, access to health care, fisheries, and livestock management.
• Finally, secondary information is collected from local and national authorities
• For the biomedical studies, standard quantitative methods are applied, such as kato-katz for stool samples (detection of parasite eggs and cysts), filtration of 10 ml for urine samples (detection of S.haematobium eggs), thick blood smears and some small drops from finger pricks (detection of malaria parasites and hemoglobin levels), light traps for adult mosquitoes, standard 350 ml scoops for larval sampling and time-based collections for aquatic snails. In Burkina Faso more schools are reached by administering a well-tested standard questionnaire for schistosomiasis, based on symptoms.
• Data are stored in excel and epi-info and analyzed using SPSS software.

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