Giving Compass' Take:

• Anand Bang describes how researchers sought the source of complaint - itching - in rural India and found a collection of explanations, rather than a single deciding factor. 

• This story exemplifies the complex problems that communities face. How can funders better understand the ecosystems that they work in? 

• Learn about a common development pitfall. 

This is the story of an itch.

It is set in the tribal villages of Gadchiroli—a remote, semi-tribal district located in central India.

The year was 2006. Like in every other year, the climate was hot and humid with heavy rainfall, and tribal people from several villages were repeatedly complaining of ‘itching’.

We were curious about why this sudden outbreak of itching, which one intuitively associates with poor hygiene, had occurred, because tribal communities are known to be scrupulously clean, personally and as a community.

First, the rainy season was longer than usual, with the rains being distributed over many months rather than concentrated in a shorter time window. This left no dry days and a constantly overcast atmosphere, which meant that wet clothes did not dry and ponds in cattle sheds remained stagnant with continued mosquito breeding.

Second, the veterinarian doctor serving these tribal villages had disappeared for reasons unknown, leaving most cattle untreated.

Third, most of the vegetables that were causing allergic itching had been distributed by the government as subsidized crop some time back.

Fourth, children were running away from their tribal residential schools and returning home more often that year, probably due to worse than usual administration in these schools. Because they had contracted scabies and lice in their schools, those conditions were now spreading in their villages.

Finally, though Gadchiroli had been ravaged by the violent, ultra-leftist insurgency for many years, that year in particular, the Naxalites were organizing repeated strikes against even farming. This meant that the communities had to shift their cultivation schedule. As a result, they were more exposed to rain and insects in the farms.

As treatment, we conducted clinics in many villages and demonstrating the ideal method of using GBHC, ensuring its mass application. We also administered antibiotics, anti-fungal, and anti-allergic medication, in addition to GBHC, to treat the several other causes of itching, and not just scabies. Focused health education was provided pertaining to several of the behaviors. The hygiene of the cattle shed was improved and water tanks nearby were emptied, eliminating the mosquito breeding sites.

Read the full article about the complex cause of a simple problem by Anand Bang at India Development Review.