oa Water Sanitation and Hygiene Correlation with Human Health Problems in Georgia

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is essential for the protection and promotion of health. It is a basic human right, and a key component of an effective public health delivery system. The importance of community water supply and sanitation as a key health and development issue, has been highlighted in a number of international policy forums in Georgia. In terms of priority environmental conditions, diarrhoea and dysentery still constitute major health problems for some villages. The study conducted by AFRD attempted to gauge the perceptions and level of awareness of the respondents on the following issues to assess the impact on the personal hygiene practices and overall health and disease burden on the following issues: upkeep of personal hygiene, safe storage and handling of drinking water, home and food sanitation, safe disposal of human excreta, safe disposal of solid wastes, safe disposal of liquid wastes, sanitation in the community. An attempt was made to measure the perceptions and level of awareness by questions defining each of the issues mentioned above. In order to analyse the overall trend, a public health awareness score was worked out for all the sample respondents.

Dr Kakha Nadiradze, President AFRD, Mrs. Nana Phirosmanashvili, Researcher AFRD Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD email; [email protected] .