Resource Guide on WASH, Nutrition and Child Health

The resource guide collates links to resources on topics including relationships between domestic animals and human health, pathogens from domestic animals and child health, child mouthing and soil ingestion, ‘Transformative’ WASH and OneHealth, WASH-Nutrition (including EED), and WASH and enteric infections. The guide was developed by PRO-WASH, WASHPaLS and the Clean, Fed, and Nurtured Coalition with input from Sophie Budge, Cranfield University, Laura Kwong, Stanford University and Sanipath at Center for Global Safe WASH, Emory University. 

Background

This resource guide came out of a three part webinar series held in the spring of 2020 by the PRO-WASH, WASHPaLS and the Clean, Fed and Nurtured Coalition. The evidence base is expanding to show that infant and young child growth is affected by persistent fecal exposure, but also that traditional WASH interventions may not be enough to address the issue. Calls are going out for ‘transformational WASH’ to address the myriad sources and pathways of infection.  The goals of the webinar series were to:

• Share the current evidence base linking enteric infection and child growth:
• Discuss the relevance of the ‘environmental enteropathy hypothesis’ to our work in food security, WASH and nutrition
• Review traditional WASH interventions in light of new documentation of sources and pathways of fecal exposure particular to infants and young children
• Highlight innovative implementation research to address pathways of infection particular to infants, youth and children (improved floors, poultry coops, and playpens)
• Discuss appropriate and measurable outcomes for implementation research and USAID/Food for Peace programming

The recordings from this three part series are available here.