reactions to e-conference

Hi,

The threat of closing the e-conference has driven me out of the shadows where I have been lurking, reading with interest all the suggestions, comments, and questions posed by the participants.

I have a few comments and questions myself, now that I am logged in.

Abednego Chigumbu (is that Abednego from UNICEF Ghana? if so, hi!) mentioned that he thought water source improvements were a more sustainable way to improve water quality than household or point of use treatment because of the behavioral aspects of correct, consistent, sustained use. That could very well be the case, but Tom Clasen has done a meta-analysis that should be published soon that indicated that household water treatment was about twice as effective in reducing diarrhea in children under five as improvements at the source.

In terms of sustainability over years, of course, we don't have that kind of data from household treatment. And Tommy Ngai also mentioned the need for this kind of research - if it isn't as effective, but protecting the water source lasts for 1 year and people give up using household water treatment after six months, what should USAID as a donor promote?

Thanks for all the time and energy into making this a productive forum! Rochelle