Investing in health, particularly that of the poor, is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In support of this strategy WHO's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is actively promoting in countries of the Region community-based initiatives like Basic Development Needs, Healthy Cities, Healthy Villages and Women in Health and Development. These approaches are based on the principle that good health status-an important goal in its own right-is central to creating and sustaining capabilities of poor people to meet their basic needs and to escape from poverty. The Community-Based Initiatives Series is aimed at facilitating the management of such initiatives. Users of the series may include government authorities, community representatives, WHO and other international agencies and nongovernmental organizations

Investing in health, particularly that of the poor, is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In support of this strategy WHO's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is actively promoting in countries of the Region community-based initiatives like Basic Development Needs, Healthy Cities, Healthy Villages and Women in Health and Development. These approaches are based on the principle that good health status-an important goal in its own right-is central to creating and sustaining capabilities of poor people to meet their basic needs and to escape from poverty. The Community-Based Initiatives Series is aimed at facilitating the management of such initiatives. Users of the series may include government authorities, community representatives, WHO and other international agencies and nongovernmental organizations

This compendium presents an overview of drinking-water quality standards in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It aims at promoting the sharing of experience among countries in the adaptation and setting of appropriate drinking-water quality standards. It may also be used in devising local drinking-water quality standards in the short term. Standards of a more permanent nature should, nonetheless, be derived from conducting studies which take into account local prevailing conditions. A survey was conducted to collate as much relevant information as possible from all countries of the Region. In addition, the Centre for Environmental Health Activities (CEHA) contacted countries in the Region requesting that respective ministries of health provide national standards and regulations for drinking-water quality standards. Collected standards are summarized in this compendium for Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. The document shows promulgated standards for drinking-water quality standards as compared with World Health Organization Guidelines for drinking-water quality, THIRD EDITION, Volume 1, 2004.

This compendium provides an overview of the quality standards for the reuse of treated wastewater in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Information was collected through surveys and from the Centre for Environmental Health Activities (CEHA), who conducted countries requesting that ministries of health provide pertinent standards and regulations for wastewater reuse quality standards in their countries. Available standards are summarized from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen. Available wastewater reuse standards are for Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. No specific standards are promulgated for wastewater reuse in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan or Palestine. This compendium also shows the recommended guidelines for water and greywater reuse as set by the regional consultation in Amman, Jordan in October 2003 which was held to review national priorities and action plans for wastewater reuse and management. Generally, Wastewater reuse standards in countries of the Region are either adopted from WHO standards or other international standards with out adapting them to suit local conditions. Local studies are essential as they may result in a relaxation of the guidelines and thus augment the quantities of reclaimed water without compromising public health, or may result in the need for more stringent standards to protect public health. In either case, such studies are deemed necessary to ensure effective and safe implementation of wastewater reuse guidelines, as this will increase confidence in reclaimed water as a valuable resource

This comprehensive guide to health research reaches out to a wide spectrum of people: students who wish to learn the basic principles of health research and how to conduct it, field researchers, and those involved in teaching and training of health research methodologies. It seeks to develop practical skills, starting with defining the characteristics of a good research question, guiding the reader through translation of that question into a research study, conduct of the research, and finally presentation of the outcome of the research to the world at large. The strength of this very useful guide lies in the way in which it blends the principles and methodologies of both qualitative and quantitative research, describing the conditions where each or both are necessary, and in which it places ethical principles in health research at the forefront. It is highly readable and easy to understand, and provides a mine of up-to-date references for those interested in further information

Scarcity of information and lack of data collection and analysis tools are the main challenges for the work of adolescent health programmes in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This user-friendly guide on conducting an adolescent health situation analysis has been developed to support countries in establishing a database for adolescent health-related indicators, in order to lead the process of programmatic planning and implementation and to measure progress and the impact of interventions. It guides the user through the four-phased process of conducting an adolescent health situation analysis and will be of great benefit in supporting adolescent health programme managers in their efforts to enhance their work for adolescents in countries