A partnership between IDRC-UNF-UNEP-WHO-Ford Foundation-CSRS

The ecosystem approach to human health (Ecohealth) offers a unique opportunity to promote human health through a more judicious management of the ecosystems. The ecological approach to human health highlights the complexity of the links between the different determinants of health, arising not only from the behaviour of the individual but also from the quality of their living and working environments. One important advantage of the Ecohealth approach is that it encourages a much broader concept of disease prevention and health promotion.

The program supports regional, field level activities using the Ecohealth approach in the Middle East and North Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and West Africa, and Ecohealth's global policy application and dissemination. Activities supported by the competitive grants will generate new knowledge and record local knowledge about key health determinants found in the ecosystem. A flagship event in the Spring of 2003, will bring the community-level activities to a global Forum on Ecohealth, at Montreal, to promote exchange of information and experiences between practitioners and policy makers. Further, a web-based network, to promote learning, knowledge sharing and scaling up opportunities, will be developed.

The objectives of the project are: To create and/or reinforce the capacities of multi-sectoral teams to implement applied field projects using an Ecohealth framework. To actively involve various levels of policy and decision-makers in order to ensure that the knowledge gained is replicated, scaled-up and institutionalized, through workshops and the flagship event, Global Forum 2003.

Winning Proposals

Middle East and North Africa

Development of Health Interventions in El-Faiyoum: A Holistic Agro-ecosystem Approach. University of Alexandria, Egypt.

Évaluation de l’impact de l’utilisation des eaux usées en agriculture sur l’écosystème et la santé de la communauté des Mzamza Settat – Maroc. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique.

Ecosystem Approach to Human Health Improvement in the North Jordan Valley. Jordanian University of Science and Technology, Jordan. 

West Africa

Élaboration des stratégies de réduction des risques de maladie diarrhéiques pour les populations humaines dus aux petits barrages en Afrique de l’Ouest: Cas du barrage de Yitenga au Burkina Faso. École inter-états d’ingénieurs de l’équipement rural, Burkina Faso.

Maîtrise de l’assainissement dans un écosystème urbain à Yaoundé au Cameroun et impacts sur la santé des enfant ages de moins de cinq ans. École Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique, Cameroun.

Applying the Eco-health Approach to the Management of Gastro-intestinal Tract Infections in Nigeria. CASSAD, Nigeria. 

Central America and the Caribbean

An ecosystem approach to human health for the prevention of Dengue. Havana City, Cuba. INHEM and IPK, Cuba.

Development And Validation Of A Community-Based Strategy For The Prevention And Control Of Dengue And Diarrhea In Urban Ecosystems Of The Guatemala - Mexico Border. INCAP-Guatemala in collaboration with Centro de Investigación de Paludismo de Chiapas, Mexico.

Control and Prevention of Chagas' Disease among the Lenca (Honduras). Visión Mundial Honduras

Eastern and Southern Africa

A prospective ecosystem based case study to determine the influence of vlei irrigation on malaria transmission: An opportunity for formulating an appropriate malaria control strategy.  University Lake Kariba Research Station (Zimbabwe).

Assessing the impact of agriculture practices on malaria through an ecosystem-health approach: The link between changing livestock management practices and increased risk of malaria in Nyabushozi County, Mbarara District, Uganda.  The Livestock Health Research Institute , Tororo, Uganda.