Chapter- 5Health & Environment

Name : Tanzila Nizam

ID:

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Introduction

Bangladesh is called a country of villages. A cosmic majority of the people lives in the villages.

In Bangladesh there are more than 78 thousand villages. Health and environment condition are

not identical among all the villages. Health and environment has close relation with economic,

social community, education, managerial, cultural, physical and mental situation. Health and

Environment is also related with each other. Health is a very convoluted issue as it is dependent

on many things such as water, food, sanitation, nutrition, hygiene practice, living standard and so

on. If we want to have a healthy life we must need a healthy environment. Environment is

everything that makes up our surroundings and affects our ability to live on the earth—the air we

breathe the water that covers most of the earth's surface and we need to drink to live, the plants

and animals around us and much more.

Health and Environment, the two interrelated factors, efforts has been made in this section to

portrait the accurate and present situation of the various aspects of the health and the

environmental issues of the South Para of Digholgaon village. We have tried to identify the

different factors like sanitation & sewerage system, sources of water & arsenic pollution, family

planning methods, immunization to the children, health care facilities and problems etc. Besides

this, we have tried to recognize some environmental issues like fuel use by the villager,

waste disposal system etc. We have also tried to recognize the activities performed by

different GO and NGOs in health and sanitation activities

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this section of our analysis are as follows:

To know the health conditions of the villagers.

The sources of water used for various purposes.

The types of toilet facilities the households get.

Type of fuel used for cooking purpose.

Waste Disposal place of the households.

Find out the health, vaccination & medical facilities available.

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METHODOLOGY:

To evaluate the Health and Environment condition of the East Para of “Digholgaon village” we

had basically performed an informal field survey among the villagers using two methods, these

are

Participatory Rural Appraisal (P.R.A)

Face to face interview

We randomly selected 25 families and asked on the related topics given in our PRA forms and

also other related things to get a measure of the health and environment of the village and its

villagers

LIMITATIONS:

The main limitation of the study is that no practical decision cannot be taken based on this study.

Because the study was conducted informally within a very short period of time about 2.30 hours.

There was lack of professionalism in that study so that the beneficiaries only can get an insight

of the health and environment condition of “Digholgaon” village. Moreover, at the time of the

survey most of the male villagers were busy with their works and female were reluctant to

answer about some issues due to their shyness. So there were gap in finding out the real picture.

Health

On the subject of the opinion of WHO Health are states of complete physical, mental and social

well-being are not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Bangladesh has 210m people of

whom 60% live in rural areas. Most of the rural people are poor and live with little necessary

facilities of life like food, shelter, pure drinking water and sanitation facilities. Because of the

poor economic background the huge number of rural households i.e. 84% cannot afford to Water

Sealed Latrine (WSL) for defecation (BSS, 1994). This condition of low sanitation coverage in

rural Bangladesh has comparison with many other developing countries of the world where only

14% of rural people have adequate sanitation coverage (WHO, 1996). As a result of this poor

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condition in respect of sanitation, many people in rural areas of Bangladesh are found to suffer

predominantly from debilitating diarrhea, and worm diseases.

Health, which contains some important attributes like, vaccination, health care facilities, family

planning, sources of water, sanitation, kitchen facilities of the village.

Table 5.1: Some Important Attributes of Health

Sources of Water for Domestic Uses in Digholgaon Village:

A major factor effecting health is water quality, especially for the health of infants and children

in developing countries. It is also a good indicator of environmental quality. When we analyzed

the sources of water and its usages in the South Para of Digholgaon village we found the

following set of data:

Table 5.2 Sources of Water for Domestic Use (Positive Response Only)

Purpose

SourcesTube-well Pond Ground

Wate8Others

No. % No. % No. % No. %Drinkin

g25 100 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bathing

15 60 2 8 8 32 0 0

Washing

8 32 5 20 12 48 0 0

Cooking

20 80 0 0 5 20 0 0

Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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HEALTH

Source of water

Sanitation

Vaccination

Healthcare

facilities

Family planning

Source: LFE Field Survey, Summer 2014

Sanitation facility

Sanitation is one of the major indicators of health and environment and toilet is the place, which

should be one of the hygienic places that a person uses. We found four types of toilet facility in

our para like pit, sanitary, hanging and ring slab latrine.

Type No. %Sanitary latrine 14 56

Ring Slab 11 44Hanging Latrine 0 0

Pit Latrine 0 0Others 0 0

Vaccination

Bangladesh is a highly populated country. Most of the people in the village are not aware of their

children. But children’s are the future of any country. It can happen when a child don’t take five

vaccines such as Polio, Diphtheria, Hopping Cough, Measles and Tetanus. It is their parent’s

responsibility but they don’t care it.

Hepatitis BBCG

TetanusMeasels

Whooping coughDiptheria

Polio

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Source: Field Survey, 2014

Response No. %Yes 23 92No 2 8

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In this table, it is clearly found that our Para was completely aware about the vaccination of

different diseases of children’s. Children aged from 0 to 5 years and mothers who are pregnant

take vaccine from the vaccine provider. The government and the NGO’s have successfully doing

their job. In our para 92%, children are vaccinated and only 8% are not vaccinated.

Family Planning

Family planning is one of the biggest concerns of Bangladesh government, especially of the rural

areas as because population problem is the main problem in our country. From the beginning

urban people are more or less conscious about family planning, because of urbanization and

industrialization. But rural are not so conscious, because of lack of knowledge, illiteracy,

superstitious etc.

75%

15%

10%

Protection of family planning

PillInjectionCondom

Category of Diseases

In our para, most of the villagers have little knowledge about diseases. Therefore, if they suffer

by disease then they wait someday. If they feel much pain for fever or any diseases then they go

to local pharmacy and take medicine from local doctor. Sometimes, they took medicine without

any prescription. As a result, they were suffering from various diseases like Diarrhea, Asthma,

Typhoid Cough, Fever, Catching Cold, Fever, and Heart diseases, Cough. We tried to identify

diseases by PRA. Common diseases of the village people are given below:

Male Female Aged people Children

Asthma Skin diseases Heart diseases Dysentery

Diabetes Asthma Hyper tension Chicken fox

Jaundice Diabetes Diabetes Pneumonia

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Yes80%

No20%

Adopting Family Planning

Healthcare Facilities

In our survey, we found that there is little health care center in the villages. For severe diseases

people usually go to Comilla medical hospital some private hospital. We have seen M.B.B.S

doctors who are practicing in some pharmacies and prescribing medicines to the villagers.

Because of superstation people also go to the local priest.

Destination Diseases

Public Healthcare Facilities Jaundice, Diarrhea, Gastric, Ulcer, Diabetes, Malaria, Blood Pressure, Heart attack, Pregnancy ,Asthma etc.

Local NGO workers Family Planning, Pregnancy.

Local pharmacy Diarrhea, Dysentery, Headache, Fever, Gastric, Cough.

Local priest (Hujur) Unusual behavior

Homeopathy Anemia, Skin Diseases.

Source: Field Survey, 2014

Environment

From the definition of Environment, it is the entirety of the natural and human surrounding and

includes biophysical components of the natural environment of land, water and air, together with

all layers of the atmosphere, all inorganic and organic matter both living and dead; and socio-

economic components of human environment as well as economic, social, cultural, historical,

archaeological, administrative, land and associated resources, human health, nutrition and safety.

Mother Nature has given us everything from food to shelter. Without which our existence would

have been impossible. But in response we give nothing without Acid rain, Global warming,

Deforestation etc. she has proved to be a good mother but we failed to be a good child. Let’s

wake up. The environment is consists of the air, water, and land around us. These elements

provide us with a range of important services, including a habitat in which to live and resources

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with which to produce goods and services. We have categorized the following environmental

issues which places a great impact on the villager’s health.

They are:

Cooking place

Waste disposal methods

Types of fuels used

Types of pollution and its affects

Cooking Place

Cooking place should be neat and clean for better health. Irrespective of all the classes and

general knowledge about health and environment, the villagers happen to have a specific place or

kitchen to cook. We have asked the villagers specially the females about their cooking place. We

observed that every kitchen is separate from the house. That means kitchen is situated outside

from main house.

According to their speeches they cook inside the kitchen; here15 of them used to cook in the

kitchen. Sometimes they cook inside the house as some of them do not have any proper build

kitchen here we find 4 household were cook inside their room, but sometime they cook outside

during winter or crop harvesting season; as we find 6 of the families sometime cook outside the

room. Here the table shows the position of cooking places of this village

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Picture 5.6.1: Cooking place of the village

Table 5.6.2: The position of cooking places of this village

75%

25%

Cooking placeoutside house inside house

Type of Fuel Used

Type of fuel use for cooking is important because it is

related with health and environment. In our assigned

village maximum people use firewood and cow dung.

Use of this kind of fuels can effect on both health &

environment. From analysis, we have seen that a large number of villagers use firewood for their

cooking purposes, and rest of the villagers use cow dung and straw for cooking. We also found

three cylinder gas in a rich class family. The black smoke emitted from burning fuels affects the

women’s health. But as majority of the villagers are poor they cannot afford cylinder gas. So

though women are having problems still they are using these as they don’t have any alternatives.

As a result they suffer from cough and other lungs diseases and feel burning in both eyes and

skin.

Bio-Diversity

Our assigned village South Para of Digholgaon is an old village. Now days they have planted

number of fruits and wood trees. Among them Bamboo bush, mango tree etc. Some trees like

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69%

19%

12%

Usage of FuelWood, Leaf Cowdung Others

Chorus tree, Higol trees already extinct. In Digholgaon village present animals are cow, dog, cat

etc. In our assign village present birds are crow, hen, duck etc and pigeon is extinct bird.

Bio-DiversityAnimals Birds Tress

Existing Cows, Hen, Duck,

Dog, Goat

Parrot, Magpie Mango, Coconut

Jackfruit

Bamboo bush

Not observed Sheep, Mongoose Goel, Pigeon Berry, Lichi

Waste Disposal Methods

Waste disposal is very vital part in spreading

diseases, before people were not much aware of

throwing the waste, but our study says the villagers

are now very health conscious and NGO has

motivated and trained them well about where to

dispose the waste. We have seen that people don’t

know the importance of waste disposal & throw

them in nearby hole.

Type of Fuel Used

Type of fuel use for cooking is important because it is related with health and environment. In

our country, the most rigorous disclosure to indoor air pollution occurs inside the house of rural

people. Usually village people habituated to use firewood as fuel in their cooking purposes. But

they do not know when it occur indoor pollution. As a result they have to suffer from various

diseases and they do not believe this are all occur due to fuel. The village people who are

wealthy they can use slender gas for fuel purpose. In our assign village maximum people uses

firewood. and using these kind of fuels it effect on both health & environment .Excess uses fuel

it occur burning eyes , bad headache ,asthma, lung problem, breathing problem etc.

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72%

12%

16%

In the hole beside the houseIn a specific placeNo specific place

Fuel Type Response Health Effect Environmental

Effect

NO Percentage Coughing,

Headache,

Burning eyes,

Breathing

Problem

Polluted the air,

water

Firewood 23 92%

Gas 2 8%

Type of Pollution & Its Effect

Pollution is the introduction of a contaminant into the environment. It is created mostly by

human actions, but can also be a result of natural disasters. Pollution has a detrimental effect on

any living organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life. In our

assigned village the villagers talked about three main types of pollution and their impact on

human health. This is clearly stated in the table below:

Types of pollution

Effects Solution

Water Jaundice, Dysentery, Diarrhea

Tubewell can be used ensure proper drainage system

Soil Reduces fertility of soil

1. Crop rotation2. Limiting the use of

pesticidesAir Asthma, Lung Cancer,

Skin ProblemEnsuring a proper place for burning

Findings

Our findings can be summarized as follows

The level of awareness about safe drinking water is high but the awareness about

waste disposal methods remains low.

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The medical facilities available are not sufficient for the size of the population

Farmers remain unaware about environmentally friendly insecticides and pesticides

and hence causing unintentional harm to their soil.

Ponds are not used properly

Women frequently go to health care center

Conclusion

A country’s manifestation depends on some important factors. Health and environment is one of

the vital issues, which inclined a country’s overall development progression. . When the health

condition decline, an overall change occurs directly in the country. On the other hand,

environmental changes affect the whole world. The future of Bangladesh is depending on the

development of the rural life. People of Digholgaon seem to be aware of the importance of

healthy environment. Last 10 years there are a lot of changes happen in this village. Peoples’

habit of sanitation and use of water for domestic purpose has changed. Villagers take care of

their children about immunization. We have analyzed the information that we have collected

from the villagers and got a distinctive knowledge. It is our belief that the government is not

proactive enough to increase the awareness and condition of local health & environment. Most of

the villagers are engaged with the speeches of the government health workers and the NGO

workers. They have learned about health care, family planning, importance of female education

etc.

The above all discussions of the health and environment condition of the Digholgaon village we

can easily acknowledged that the situation of this village is more or less good enough. This

village is closer to the bazaar, and the Comilla city. So, they have the benefit of lots of facilities.

LFE gave us an opportunity to know about the village life which may be we personally can never

earn. All the days we spent in Digholgaon village, is an extraordinary memory of our life.

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