The Blue Nile Health Project: a comprehensive approach to the prevention and control of water-associated diseases in irrigated schemes of the Sudan

Abstract

This is a general report on the Blue Nile Health Project in the Sudan. The project was initiated in 1979 to develop better strategies for controlling the major water-associated diseases in tropical irrigation schemes. The 10-year programme will cost about $154 million (1978 prices). The Gezira, Managil and Rahad irrigation systems, all irrigated from the Blue Nile River, were selected for the project area as typical of irrigation systems throughout Africa and the Middle East where malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and schistosomiasis are endemic, and as the areas most urgently in need of disease control in the Sudan. The methods used for control of the water-associated diseases emphasize permanent improvements in water supply and sanitation, in environmental and agricultural practices, in health education, community participation and primary health services, and a reduction in dependence on pesticides and drugs.