Public Health International (PHI) began in the villages of Western Equador. The focus of the initial program was to attack multiple public health problems which were debilitating whole communities. PHI intervention resulted in clean water, solid waste management and vector control services which helped to all but eliminate cholera, and minimized the incidence of dengue, malaria, rabies, and diahhreal illness.
PHI’s method incorporated the development and support of indigenous elected Public Health Committees in each of the communities willing to take on the important tasks of water system installation and supervision, and development of engineered latrines and solid waste disposal. Other services include vector and rabies control. This system has won wide recognition, including USAID, the United Nations, Rotary International and the World Bank.
As the Equadorian system expanded and its successes were recorded, communities in neighboring Peru, Nicaragua, and Honduras sought council on how such systems were to be successfully developed and sustained in their territories. Conferences and training programs included guests from these neighbors. Invitations to assist were generated. PHI-Equador responded by developing a system wherein Equadorian leadership went to the requestors and provided the training they had initially learned from PHI and had expanded through their own practical experience.
Because of the similar background the Equadorian staff shared with their hosts, progress in program development was achieved more quickly than had been the experience using U.S.A personnel. The results have been parallel to those in Equador. Cholera in the participating villages has almost disappeared, and the incidence of the other public health issues has been significantly reduced among their townspeople. Therefore, there is strong incentive to expand the “Salud” system in service to all the three countries 3.0 million citizens.