About the Healthy Living Initiative

In alliance with the Center for International Studies (CIS)  at Ohio University and the Center for Research on Health in Latin America (CISeAL), at  Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE). 

• Project Details
• Development Team
• Partnership

Saving Lives one Home at a Time

The Healthy Living Initiative is working with communities in southern Ecuador to construct a Chagas disease prevention model that addresses the interrelated social, economic, and political factors driving the disease. If proven successful, the model will serve as a transferrable approach for effectively preventing Chagas and other diseases of poverty, improving health, and expanding opportunities for people whose potential is now restricted by this disease.

Chagas is a debilitating and often fatal illness that affects approximately six to seven million people worldwide. It is caused by  Trypanasoma cruzi, a blood-borne protozoan parasite, spread by an insect known as the kissing bug. The disease is a significant public health concern, particularly in Latin America, but is not well-known, because it disproportionately affects people in underserved communities in tropical climates of Latin America.

The cornerstone of the Healthy Living Initiative is a project called Healthy Homes for Healthy Living, which is aimed at improving houses to interrupt the disease transmission cycle. Adobe walls, dirt floors, and tile roofs are often quite porous providing the kissing bugs with many options for entry. Improved housing will interrupt the disease transmission cycle by simply keeping bugs out of peoples’ homes.

Components under the initative

Through ongoing partnerships in Ecuador and within OHIO, we have developed the following components under the initiative:

• improve infrastructure,

• promote healthy living practices, and

• increase income generation.

These key elements of a healthy living environment, generated as the result of more than 13 years of collaborative research, are at the core of our model for sustainable Chagas disease prevention and control. We designed the prototype home and other interventions in collaboration with community members of the communities Bellamaría, Chaquizhca, and Guara in Loja Province, Ecuador.

Current projects

In 2020, OHIO students and faculty joined forces with partner families in the construction of new homes. By constructing more secure homes  in partnership with families, we hope to provide them with not only a more secure living environment but also more hope for the future. Special features of the homes include a bio digester toilet and the development of a productive garden. The garden provides food both for not only consumption but also for sale at the market.