ARCHIVE Institute
Encyclopedia
ARCHIVE is an international non-profit organization that focuses on the link between health and housing. ARCHIVE is an acronym: Architecture for Health In Vulnerable Environments. Founded by Utne Reader
visionary Peter Williams in 2006, ARCHIVE began in the United States and in 2009 the organization was launched in the United Kingdom.
Through the relationship between health and housing, ARCHIVE focuses on improving the health of people in developing countries and the UK by improving their living conditions. They seek to do this in two ways: preventative and treatment based. On a preventative level, the organization advocates renovating inadequate housing for the economically disadvantaged in a bid to reduce their vulnerability to disease and ill health. It advocates a treatment-based approach by the creation of home-based care facilities for those already suffering from ill health thus making housing central to the delivery of suitable care.
Currently ARCHIVE is the only organization working globally to prioritize a combined health and housing approach to improve lives while encouraging communities to invest in identifying and creating solutions. In the UK, the organization reduces the transmission and associated stigma of Tuberculosis through disease prevention outreach strategies. The approach is to consult and involve local community groups, residents, National Health Service and local authorities.
• Black and Asian ethnic minority groups
• refugee and migrant groups
• economically disadvantaged and low income households
and Foundation Esther Boucicault Stanislas (FEBS). FEBS is a community organization based in St Marc that provides access to medicine and works to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2010, six months after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
ARCHIVE launched Kay e Sante nan Ayiti (Creole
for Housing and Health in Haiti), a project to raise awareness of how housing can form part of a strategy to reduce the transmission of airborne diseases such as TB. As an integral part of the project, a global design competition called on architects, engineers, health specialists and the general public to pool their knowledge and submit housing designs which would mitigate disease transmission while remaining sympathetic to the local environment.
An interdisciplinary panel of judges and the local community chose five winning designs for construction in an integrated community development and healthcare pilot project in the coastal port town of Saint-Marc, in western Haiti, an hour’s drive (100 km) from capital Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has the highest TB rate in the Americas; in 2007 it had an estimated 306 TB cases per 100,000 persons, compared with 4.4 cases per 100,000 persons in the US in the same year. After HIV/AIDS TB is Haiti's greatest infectious cause of death. Many of the TB patients who received care before the quake saw their treatment interrupted and as a result became more infectious. People living with HIV/AIDS are especially vulnerable to contracting TB, with one third already co-infected.
These improvements will provide increased protection against malaria and better living conditions for the residents.
Brent, the Brent Council, the Brent Refugee and Migrant Forum and various community organizations. The purpose of the partnership is to raise awareness of the link between Tuberculosis
and housing. The focus is on the London Borough of Brent
, as it has the highest rate of TB
of any London Borough, after Newham, with 101.12 new cases per 100,000 of population. The majority of those cases occur among the Black, Asian and Ethnic minorities.
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
visionary Peter Williams in 2006, ARCHIVE began in the United States and in 2009 the organization was launched in the United Kingdom.
Mission and Approach
“Clean, warm housing is an essential input for prevention and care of diseases of poverty like HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Diarrhea, and Malaria.”Through the relationship between health and housing, ARCHIVE focuses on improving the health of people in developing countries and the UK by improving their living conditions. They seek to do this in two ways: preventative and treatment based. On a preventative level, the organization advocates renovating inadequate housing for the economically disadvantaged in a bid to reduce their vulnerability to disease and ill health. It advocates a treatment-based approach by the creation of home-based care facilities for those already suffering from ill health thus making housing central to the delivery of suitable care.
Currently ARCHIVE is the only organization working globally to prioritize a combined health and housing approach to improve lives while encouraging communities to invest in identifying and creating solutions. In the UK, the organization reduces the transmission and associated stigma of Tuberculosis through disease prevention outreach strategies. The approach is to consult and involve local community groups, residents, National Health Service and local authorities.
History
ARCHIVE was founded by its now Executive Director, Peter Williams. ARCHIVE was developed from a three year independent research project by Williams who originally trained as an architect. His research reinforced the basic link between housing and health outcomes in South African communities. In 2005, Williams created a blog to encourage debate around public health policy, planning, epidemics and architecture. This led to the formation of ARCHIVE in New York, in 2006 followed by ARCHIVE UK three years later.Target groups in the UK
In the UK specific groups and communities face an increased risk of poor health due to inadequate housing. Each group has an individual set of needs and circumstances which ARCHIVE seeks to address. ARCHIVE UK focuses on these particular groups:• Black and Asian ethnic minority groups
• refugee and migrant groups
• economically disadvantaged and low income households
Haiti
In Haiti, ARCHIVE works in partnership with Housing WorksHousing Works
Housing Works is a New York City based non-profit fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. The charity is well-known for its operations, which have recently included outreach to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake....
and Foundation Esther Boucicault Stanislas (FEBS). FEBS is a community organization based in St Marc that provides access to medicine and works to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2010, six months after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
ARCHIVE launched Kay e Sante nan Ayiti (Creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
for Housing and Health in Haiti), a project to raise awareness of how housing can form part of a strategy to reduce the transmission of airborne diseases such as TB. As an integral part of the project, a global design competition called on architects, engineers, health specialists and the general public to pool their knowledge and submit housing designs which would mitigate disease transmission while remaining sympathetic to the local environment.
An interdisciplinary panel of judges and the local community chose five winning designs for construction in an integrated community development and healthcare pilot project in the coastal port town of Saint-Marc, in western Haiti, an hour’s drive (100 km) from capital Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has the highest TB rate in the Americas; in 2007 it had an estimated 306 TB cases per 100,000 persons, compared with 4.4 cases per 100,000 persons in the US in the same year. After HIV/AIDS TB is Haiti's greatest infectious cause of death. Many of the TB patients who received care before the quake saw their treatment interrupted and as a result became more infectious. People living with HIV/AIDS are especially vulnerable to contracting TB, with one third already co-infected.
Cameroon
In 2011, ARCHIVE will begin working in Cameroon on a project to reduce the prevalence of malaria in informal settlements through innovative housing and architectural designs. In Cameroon malaria is responsible for over 40% of deaths among children under five.These improvements will provide increased protection against malaria and better living conditions for the residents.
UK
In 2010 ARCHIVE UK launched the Happy Healthy Households Partnership with NHSNational Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
Brent, the Brent Council, the Brent Refugee and Migrant Forum and various community organizations. The purpose of the partnership is to raise awareness of the link between Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and housing. The focus is on the London Borough of Brent
London Borough of Brent
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased...
, as it has the highest rate of TB
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
of any London Borough, after Newham, with 101.12 new cases per 100,000 of population. The majority of those cases occur among the Black, Asian and Ethnic minorities.