Person:
Meeks, Robyn

Profile Picture

Email Address

AA Acceptance Date

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Meeks

First Name

Robyn

Name

Meeks, Robyn

Filters

2009 - 200912010 - 20111

Settings

Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.41740e7b-3928-484c-a941-29dcc00b5e72

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Publication
    Communal Taps: Assessing the Impact of Shared Pipe Water Supplies in Kyrgyzstan
    (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2011-04) Meeks, Robyn
    Although shared piped water supply systems are an increasingly popular way of providing “improved water sources” in developing countries, little rigorous evidence exists on the benefits of such systems. To fill this gap, the research presented in this paper assesses a large-scale infrastructure project implemented in rural Kyrgyzstan. Using data on the scoring system designed to select villages for the project, this paper exploits a non-linearity that exists in the likelihood of being selected to identify the impacts of these improved water sources on village, household, and individual-level health-related outcomes. In doing so, the paper overcomes endogeneity concerns due to non-random village selection. The infrastructure project did improve water access in villages that are selected to receive a water supply system; households in such villages are less likely to use an unprotected source for their household water and are more likely to use a primary water source that is located less than 200 meters from the house. This results in a significant decrease in the village-level incidence of two water-related diseases, acute intestinal infections and Hepatitis A, in children 5 years old and younger. An analysis of impacts on incidence of a disease less likely to be directly affected by water access, specifically acute respiratory infections, was performed as a robustness check. As was hypothesized, there is no evidence that the improved water supply systems reduce acute respiratory infections.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Publication
    Water and Human Well Being: An Executive Session on Grand Challenges of the Sustainability Transition
    (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2009-11) Zwane, Alix Peterson; Kremer, Michael; Meeks, Robyn
    The Executive Session on Water and Human Well Being was convened by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Venice International University on July 20–21, 2009. This high-level gathering was organized to create a unique space for dialog between policymakers, academics, and sector experts to move beyond the truism that “water is life” towards actionable solutions for making water a force for improved human health and well being in the development agenda. Discussion focused on sharing new evidence from applied research on game-changing technologies and human behavior that affect environmental health outcomes. In addition, sessions addressed strategies to move beyond promising pilot projects to scalable programs; public, private, and integrated approaches were considered. The interconnections between sustainability and scale were explored, giving policymakers an explicit opportunity to help shape the research agenda of leading biomedical and social scientists working at the intersection of water and health. The session was one in a series on Grand Challenges of the Sustainability Transition organized by the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University with the generous support of the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land, and Sea.