Information systems for water resources management improvement in developing countries

Water resources management, as also water service provision projects in developing countries have difficulties to take adequate decisions due to scarce reliable information, and a lack of proper information managing. Some appropriate tools need to be developed in order to improve decision making to improve water management and access of the poorest, through the design of Decision Support Systems (DSS). On the one side, a DSS for developing co-operation projects on water access improvement has been developed. Such a tool has specific context constrains (structure of the system, software requirements) and needs (Logical Framework Approach monitoring, organizational-learning, accountability and evaluation) that shall be considered for its design. Key aspects for its successful implementation have appeared to be a participatory design of the system and support of the managerial positions at the inception phase. A case study in Tanzania was conducted, together with the Spanish NGO ONGAWA – Ingeniería para el Desarrollo. On the other side, DSS are required also to improve decision making on water management resources in order to achieve a sustainable development that not only improves the living conditions of the population in developing countries, but that also does not hinder opportunities of the poorest on those context. A DSS made to fulfil these requirements shall be using information from water resources modelling, as also on the environment and the social context. Through the research, a case study has been conducted in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, an endhorreic basin 160 km south of Addis Ababa. There, water has been modelled using ArcSWAT, a physically based model which can assess the impact of land management practices on large complex watersheds with varying soils, land use and management conditions over long periods of time. Moreover, governance on water and environment as also the socioeconomic context have been studied.

Equality Information Work Plan (PDF 24 KB)

Monitoring of the usage of health services by the different Section 75 groups is a key aspect of the equality information agenda.

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2001

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2001 Download the Report here

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2002

The framework within which the Office of the CMO will operate for 2002 is that of the Departmentâ?Ts corporate implementation plan for the Strategy. The Office will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Department with regard to the Strategy, by participating in  relevant agreed activities so as to achieve the first national goal of better health for everybody.The stakeholders identified in the Strategy consultation process are those with whom appropriate linkages and communications need to be  established and managed if the Strategy is to be implemented effectively. Download document here

Community Involvement For Women's Health: Mechanisms Within Primary Care Services

Community Involvement For Women’s Health: Mechanisms Within Primary Care Services The Women.s Health Council is a statutory body established in 1997 to advise the Minister for Health and Children on all aspects of women.s health. Following a recommendation in the Report of the Second Commission on the Status of Women (1993), Developing a Policy for Women’s Health. A Discussion Document was published in 1995. One of the recommendations in the Plan was a proposal that a Women’s Health Council be set up as a centre of expertise on women.s health issues, to foster research into women.s health, evaluate the success of this Plan in improving women’s health and advise the Minister for Health on women’s issues generally. Click here to download PDF 644kb  

Customer Service Action Plan

Customer Service Action Plan One of the fundamental themes of Delivering Better Government (1996) is the â?oachievement of an excellent service for the Government and for the public as customers and clients at all levelsâ?Âù. In 2000, the Quality Customer Service (QCS) Working Group reviewed and revised the 1997 Principles of Quality Customer Service to take account of changes in the environment since 1997, such as the equality agenda. In July 2000, the Government decided that: Click here to download PDF 199kb

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2003

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2003 The National Health Strategy â?oQuality and Fairness: A Health System for Youâ?Âù is based on a whole-system approach to health matters. It recognises the role of stakeholders such as the public, community and voluntary bodies, health service providers, statutory and non-statutory bodies, other Government Departments and international bodies in working together to produce a world-class health system and a healthier population. Click here to download PDF 2.5mb

Evaluation of tumor vascularisation in two rat sarcoma models for studying isolated lung perfusion : Injection route determines the origin of tumour vessels

Résumé Introduction: La perfusion isolée cytostatique du poumon est une technique attractive qui permet l'administration des doses élevées d'un agent cytostatique tout en épargnant dans la mesure du possible la circulation systémique. Cependant, la perfusion de l'artère pulmonaire risque d'épargner le territoire pulmonaire vascularisé par l'intermédiaire des artères bronchiques, ce qui pourrait diminuer l'efficacité de ce traitement au cas où la lésion ciblée est vascularisée par les artères bronchiques. Ce travail est destiné au développement d'un modèle tumoral au niveau des poumons de rongeur (rat) porteur d'un sarcome pulmonaire afin de déterminer si la voie d'injection des cellules tumorales (intraveineuse, versus intratumorale) influencera la vascularisation des tumeurs (provenant du système artères pulmonaires ou artères bronchiques). Méthod: Des tumeurs de sarcomes pulmonaires ont été générées par injection d'une suspension cellulaire de sarcome, soit par injection intraveineuse, soit directement dans le parenchyme pulmonaire par thoracotomie. Ensuite, une perfusion isolée du poumon porteur de la tumeur à l'aide de l'encre a été effectuée, soit par l'artère pulmonaire, soit par le système des artères bronchiques. La distribution de l'encre dans les vaisseaux tumoraux ainsi que dans les vaisseaux non tumoraux du poumon adjacent a été investiguée à l'aide d'une analyse histologique des poumons perfusés. Résultat: L'administration intraveineuse et intratumorale de la suspension de cellules tumorales résulte en des tumeurs similaires sur le plan histologique. Néanmoins, l'injection intra-parenchymateuse démontre des tumeurs plus homogènes et avec un développement plus prédictible, était associée à une survie plus longue qu'après injection intraveineuse. Les analyses histologiques après perfusion isolée à l'aide de l'encre démontre que les tumeurs résultant de l'injection intraveineuse ont développé une vascularisation se basant sur le système d'artères pulmonaires tandis que les tumeurs émergeant après injection intraparenchymateuse ont développé une vascularisation provenant du système des artères bronchiques. Conclusion: Ce travail démontre pour la première fois l'importance du mode de génération de tumeurs pulmonaires en ce qui concerne leur future vascularisation, ce qui pourrait avoir un impact sur leur traitement par perfusion isolée du poumon. Abstract Isolated cytostatic lung perfusion (ILP) is an attractive technique allowing delivery of a high-dose of cytostatic agents to the lungs while limiting systemic toxicity. In developing a rat model of ILP, we have analysed the effect of the route of tumour cell injection on the source of tumour vessels. Pulmonary sarcomas were estab¬lished by injecting a sarcoma cell suspension either by the intravenous (i.v.) route or directly into the lung paren¬chyma. Ink perfusion through either pulmonary artery (PA) or bronchial arteries (BA) was performed and the characteristics of the tumour deposits defined. i.v. and direct injection methods induced pulmonary sarcoma nodules, with similar histological features. The intraparenchymal injection of tumour cells resulted in more reli¬able and reproducible tumour growth and was associat¬ed with a longer survival of the animals. i.v. injected tumours developed a PA-derived vascular tree whereas directly injected tumours developed a BA-derived vasculature.

Department of Health and Children Business Plan 2003

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Quality and Fairness - A Health System for You - Action Plan Progress Report 2003

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