BACKGROUND. Environmental health problems in poor cities of Peru are so large and complex that need locally-based, comprehensive needs assessments and inter-sectoral responses. Since 1999, CARE Peru and the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) have been collaborating in San Juan de Lurigancho, a poor district of Lima with 700,000 inhabitants. STRATEGY. Under the auspices of the CARE-CDC Health Initiative funded by the Woodruff Foundation, CARE and NCEH have: (a) Promoted an Inter-institutional Committee for the Improvement of Local Environmental Health (ICILEH), which grouped municipal authorities, government environmental health agencies, local NGOs and businesses and community groups. (b) Provided technical assistance to the ICILEH for a comprehensive needs assessment and strategic planning, based on the Protocol for Achievement Community Excelence on Environmental Health (PACE-EH), initially developed by NCEH for use in United States urban settings. (c) Provided technical assistance in the use of the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) for the in-depth assessment of water supply, excreta and solid waste disposal in households, schools and community kitchens. RESULTS. (1) Within the ICILEH, member institutions coordinated the joint design and implementation of needs assessments and planning. (2) The adapted PACE-EH framework was successful for needs assessment and planning. (3) Using HACCP methods, the ICILEH collected and analyzed relevant data from the needs assessment for future interventions. IMPLICATIONS. This experience suggests appropriate roles of NGOs and technical cooperation agencies (e.g. CDC) to collaborate with local partners for the problem identification and intervention planning on urban environmental health.
Learning Objectives: The objective is to present the successful experience of CARE Peru and the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health in working with district authorities, public health officers and community groups in Peru for the joint design and implementation of a comprehensive needs assessment and strategic planning on urban environmental health issues in a poor district of the city of Lima, Peru.
Keywords: Environmental Health, Urban Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.