H4O for Health Improvements

In Madagascar , most deaths are still linked to preventable diseases.

H4O long-term prevention programmes aim to improve public health conditions as well as respond to global outbreaks of life-threatening WASH related diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis and COVID-19

H4O maximises its projects’ impact on people’s health by combining Hardware & Software interventions. It means that we are determined to reduce the burden of preventable diseases not only by building infrastructure but also by empowering individuals, schools and communities with knowledge to trigger behavioural change and to create demand for services. 

Projects are implemented in an integrated way to improve health conditions and kickstart community development.

Water

Safe drinking water to prevent infectious diseases

Contaminated water is the first route to the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera, schistosomiasis, and various gastrointestinal sickness that are still one of the main health concerns in North Western Madagascar. H4O water supplies drastically reduce the prevalence of oro-faecal diseases by targeting all private houses, schools and healthcare facilities.

Water quality and water quantity are fundamental for human health and H4o believes that communities’ development cannot start without good health and wellbeing.

Clean water holds an incredible value in terms of disease prevention and this is the reason why the first H4O aim is to provide communities with access to safe drinking water as a means to improve health conditions and kickstart development.

Sanitation

Improved toilets for a healthier environment

The Sanitation Programme aims to improve people’s health by reducing the incidence of faecal-oral diseases in the target area. To avoid the spread of diseases, the human environment needs to be separated from faeces. This is the reason why H4O aims to build improved toilets to break the chain of infection from pathogens to new hosts. When H40 started its programme, almost 100% of the archipelago’s inhabitants were still practicing Open-Defecation.

Since 2014, H4O builds private toilets for each household and gender separated toilets for schools and healthcare facilities.

The expected outcome is to declare the archipelago Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2030 and to improve health conditions of its inhabitants.

Menstrual Hygiene is also very important for girls and women’s health. H4O sanitation programme makes menstrual hygiene easier and safer.

Hygiene promotion

Behavioural change to prevent communicable diseases

The strength of H4O in improving public health conditions is to merge hardware and software interventions. In fact, as well as infrastructures and facilities, software interventions such as workshops and public promotion are extremely important to break the chain of disease transmission by raising awareness and by introducing good attitudes, practices and behaviours.

To maximise the health improvements, the focus of H4O Software interventions are the schools. Children are the first beneficiaries as well as the first promoters of the right practices both in each household and at community level.

Another very important target of H4O SW interventions are pupils’ mothers that manage the daily life at household level. Raising awareness and improving people’s knowledge can be crucial for the prevention of disease transmission and the spread of good practices.

Social enterprises

Ensure access to quality healthy products.

Our social enterprises are united by the common goal of having an impact on the public health conditions of indigenous communities.

Thanks to H4O’s social enterprises local inhabitants are provided with affordable quality health care products such as medicated toothpaste and disinfectant soap as well as energetic and nutrient dark chocolate.

Furthermore, the staff of H4O social enterprises is also in charge of running workshops to raise awareness on determinants of health and to promote good hygiene practices as well as healthy and adequate nutrition habits.

The social enterprises’ staff also run marketing campaigns in order to promote the use of quality products for all.

Projects

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