Recorded presentation

Eckhard Kleinau, Dr PH, MD, Environmental Health ProjectII (EHP), 1611 N. Kent St., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209, (703) 247-8730, KleinauEF@EHProject.org and Odile Randriamananjara, MD, DTM, Voahary Salama, Lot VC 99 Ambohidahy, Antananarivo, 101, Madagascar.

Recognizing the nexus between population and the environment as crucial for achieving sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, USAID supported the Voahary Salama Association, an NGO umbrella organization that implements the integrated population, health and environment (PHE) program along Madagascar's forest corridors. Voahary Salama, in collaboration with 16 other partners including the Environmental Health Project (EHP), developed the institutional and technical capacity of local NGOs to implement integrated activities in 160 Malagasy communities covering a population of 120,000 between 2000 and 2004. Systematic monitoring and evaluation showed that integrated programs can be very effective at relatively low costs. Substantial improvements of key PHE indicators were measured such as contraceptive prevalence rates (from 12% to 17%), immunization coverage (from 48% to 68%), access to safe water (from 19% to 24%) and basic sanitation (from 52% to 55%), and the practice of less destructive natural resource management methods (slash and burn decreased from 55% to 25%). Health indicators such as malnutrition and diarrhea prevalence, however, remained high with poverty and natural disasters from cyclones as important contributing factors.

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