Aid in Action

Promoting Environmental Health through the Marketplace

Revitalizing the Role of the Sanitarian

Banda Aceh | Wednesday, October 18, 2006

In Aceh, the USAID-funded Health Services Program (HSP) is working with the Department of Health to revitalize the role of the sanitarian, the health system personnel who is responsible for environmental health. They do this by helping communities and the government address issues such as trash management, food safety, clean water, and vectors of infectious disease. As such, traditional markets are a major area for sanitarians to focus their efforts.

Peunayong market is where many Banda Aceh residents and restaurants purchase produce, fish and meat. The market was recently re-built by CHF (Community Health Finance) International, in partnership with the American Red Cross (AmRC), with funds from AIG (American International Group). USAID’s assistance, through the Health Services Program, is bringing together a multitude of stakeholders to identify and maintain an agreed-upon vision for health and safety in the market community. The idea is to set a model that can be replicated across.

Developing a Model Healthy Marketplace: How it Works

Once a marketplace is re-built, a number of players are key to ensuring healthy standards are maintained. Foremost among them are vendors, who set and maintain standards of food storage, handling, preparation and display that reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses. Assisting market associations to mobilize vendors towards the goal of a “Healthy Marketplace” is one primary area of HSP assistance.

To develop the Healthy Marketplace model, HSP has utilized the international World Health Organization (WHO) standards, which are endorsed by the Ministry of Health. HSP assisted the District Health Office and the Industrial Trade Office to conduct environmental health workshops in July 12, 2006. The workshop brought vendors together to develop a mission and vision for what health standards they want to maintain in the newly-rebuilt market, including hygiene, sanitation, and food handling.

The next step will include an advocacy component, where HSP staff will work with the District Health office, mayor’s office, and the local Parliament to enforce local regulations for the healthy marketplace. HSP is partnering with Muhammadiyah University School of Public Health to provide refresher training for the Puskesmas sanitarians responsible for educating vendors and monitoring healthy marketplace practices. HSP will provide additional support to ensure the health office in its four target districts (Ulee Kareng, Setui, Aceh Jaya and Kampung Baru) has the capacity to ensure sanitarians support Healthy Markets in their areas.

A model Healthy Marketplace aims to:
• Ensure all government and market stakeholders work together to ascertain the
  marketplace provides safe and nutritious food.
• Ensure market vendors safely store, handle and display food products.
• Reinforce traditional Acehnese food preparation practices that prevent the spread of 
  food borne illness— such as cooking food at a high temperature, for a sufficient length
  of time.
• Create demand for safe and healthy food products by educating consumers.
• Disperse hygiene messages that improve household food handling, storage and
  preparation.