Public health support to water supply in Kyrgyzstan Available to Purchase

This paper describes the main features of the Department for International Development (DFID)-funded Rural Hygiene and Sanitation Project (RHSP) in Kyrgyzstan, which is being implemented in parallel with the DFID/World Bank Rural Water Supply Project. The RHSP seeks to put into practice the current thinking that the health outcomes of improved water supply will only be achieved if hygiene and sanitation are given equal attention to water supply. In many cases the health benefits will only be achieved if there is a change in behaviour. A change in behaviour does not only mean change in practical hygiene behaviour by individuals but rather a change in attitude on the part of individuals, communities and the institutions that support them. The RHSP seeks to achieve this through participatory hygiene promotion in over 200 villages, providing supporting institutions with new information and techniques for health promotion, constructing improved public sanitation facilities and training the communities themselves to monitor the water quality and condition of their water supply system.