Rapid Action Programme: Emergency Arsenic Mitigation Programme in Two Hundred Villages in Bangladesh

Publisher Summary The presence of arsenic (As) in tube wells in Bangladesh has been known since 1984. The impact on public health from this exposure to As is only just being understood. Between November 1997 and April 1998, Dhaka Community Hospital was authorized by the Bangladesh Government (with UNDP support) to conduct a rapid action program (RAP) to establish a baseline on the extent of the problem in a sample population. Data are collected from rural locations thought to be situated in vulnerable areas. The presence/absence of As in tube wells, according to field kit testing and number and gender of clinically symptomatic adults and children are recorded. It is impossible for the survey to be conducted in isolation of the affected communities' needs, so follow-up clinics are arranged for patients via the hospital's own programs. Social awareness campaigns are mounted because of the social stigma attached to those affected. The contaminated wells are marked and villagers advised about alternative safe water sources. The RAP has highlighted various practical problems: reliability of field-testing kits, mapping of villages, unknown number of privately sunk tube wells. The extent of the contamination and number of arsenicosis victims may be far greater than many organizations currently acknowledge.