RHAs in Safe Water Projects in Haiti

Assessing and Leveraging Religious Health Assets for Safe Water Projects in Rural Haiti

You expect the water from your tap, or even from a well, to be safe, but in Haiti water can make you sick. These researchers hope to help US donor agencies make wise investments and to improve the health of rural Haitians by assessing the contribution of religious entities to safe water projects, such as adding chlorine. Graduate students Michael Ritter and Gretchen VanEss will work in Haiti this summer with Professor Erskine, who has written extensively about Caribbean theology and churches. The team will develop a best practice model for replicating a pilot project being implemented by a Kentucky faith-based organization, Missions of Love. Their health goal is to reduce the occurrence of diarrhea, the leading cause of death among children under age five. The researchers also anticipate that the data they collect will improve knowledge-sharing among public health organizations, Haitian churches and communities, and donor agencies. Christine Moe, Director of the Center for Global Safe Water RSPH, says she anticipates new donors as a result of the project.

Researchers:

Deborah McFarland, PhD, Eugene Gangarossa, PhD, and Michael Ritter, Rollins School of Public Health

Noel Erskine, PhD, and Gretchen VanEss, Candler School of Theology