CELEBRATING THE IFH IN GENEVA

The IFH Scientific Advisory Board met in Geneva on the 12^th and 13^th of November ’98 taking the opportunity to celebrate the launch of this IFH Internet Site, Home Health and Hygiene, and discuss the continued growth, globalisation and progress of this motivated group of hygiene experts.

Since their first meeting in March 1997, where the value and need for a body such as the IFH was recognised, this group of academics and professionals with an interest in hygiene in the domestic environment have addressed issues central to the subject of home hygiene. Through consensus debates they have written two important documents, both of which can be found on this internet site. At their third meeting they decided to form a non-profit, non-government organisation, dedicated to raising awareness and furthering the understanding of Home Hygiene. The Geneva meeting represented the fourth meeting of the IFH and was their first as an official entity, following a successful application to register as a foundation with its base in Switzerland. The meeting involved guest speakers and provided valuable time for the members of the Scientific Advisory Board to discuss important home hygiene issues and further policies.

THE WHO AND HOME HYGIENE
Guest speaker, Annette Prüss of the World Health Organisation (Unit of Water Sanitation and Health), outlined WHO activities in the field of home hygiene, reporting that although no one unit was responsible for this area, information gathered from different departments revealed community based activities that focus on environmental sanitation, food safety and health promotion. Ms Prüss spoke about the ‘settings’ approach to health promotion, part of the Healthy Cities initiative, acknowledging that the ‘home setting’ had not yet received the full attention of the WHO. Through the PHAST Initiative, Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation, the WHO involve communities in sanitation improvement measures, empowering groups to manage their own water systems and control the local incidence of sanitation-related diseases. This area, where hygiene education attempts to help communities and individuals to improve hygiene behaviour, complements the interests of the IFH and prompted many questions from IFH Scientific Advisory Board members.

HOME HYGIENE IN INDIA
Professor Nath, Director of the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, due to report on the role of home hygiene in India, was unable to attend and sent his apologies. His report, Environmental Sanitation, Hygiene and Community Health in India: Need for an Integrated Approach, was submitted in his absence. Professor Nath stated in his report that, despite significant government directives in health care delivery, the value of hygiene in the prevention of infectious disease epidemics is not yet fully appreciated, and that cross infection within the home remains a significant problem in India. "This neglect of socio-ecological factors is contributing to further increase the burden of disease." Professor Nath stressed the importance of hygiene education and the need for an integrated action plan for improving environmental sanitation and domestic and personal hygiene to promote community health and prevent infectious diseases.