4 July 2008

A British Red Cross sanitation and hygiene team has returned from Sichuan province in China, but health risks to earthquake-affected communities remain and a second team has been deployed.

The emergency response unit (ERU) worked with local communities in Jiu Long, Ban Qiao and Zun Dao townships, which had been devastated by the earthquake on 12 May. The four-member team, specifically trained and equipped to prevent sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea, was able to deal with the sanitation needs of up to 20,000 people.

Team member Zahra Ali said: "When we first arrived people were astonished that foreigners had come from so far away to help. The scale of destruction was unbelievable, everything was flattened. People are living among the rubble in long rows of makeshift camps, like a high street of tents."

Building latrines

Recently, constant rains in China have been imposing additional health risks and the first priority of the team was to build toilets. So far, the ERU has constructed 297 temporary latrines.

Team leader Ina Bluemel said: "The co-operation with community leaders has been excellent, with a mutual understanding of the sanitation and hygiene needs.

"We trained community members on site selection, latrine construction and maintenance and then work began according to the needs of affected villages."

Hygiene promotion

With latrine construction well under way, the focus shifted to providing adequate washing facilities and hygiene promotion.

The team trained three health specialists from each village in Jiu Long. These 20 specialists will train up to 300 community members and the trainees will then engage the rest of the community in hygiene promotion.

The ERU team has also carried out hygiene promotion activities in schools, focusing on peer group education – with groups of young people training their schoolmates.

Ongoing needs

As well as further distributions of temporary latrines, the second ERU rotation will start reconstructing permanent sanitation facilities in the villages.

The team will also be responding to requests from local communities for further support in safe disposal of rubbish, drainage to prevent contamination of water sources and controlling the transmission of disease carried by insects, rats and mosquitoes.

The ERU team is also continuing to train staff and volunteers from the Red Cross Society of China who will take over the sanitation and hygiene programme when the ERU completes its four-week mission.

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