Source Weekly 2008, 2

Published - 20 Mar 08

International

World Water Day: walking and talking for water most popular 2008 events

Although S anitation Matters! is the theme for 2008, walking and talking for water are the most popular among the 89 events listed on the World Water Day site maintained by IRC.

Human rights: the Netherlands officially recognises the right to water

In the opening of the 7th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 3 March 2008, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen, announced that the Netherlands is to recognise the right to water as a human right.

USA: Congressman Payne champions International Year of Sanitation

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health has introduced a concurrent resolution supporting the United Nations’ declaration of 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.

UN chief: lack of political will biggest culprit in failure to achieve basic sanitation goal

Leaders who adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 envisioned halving the proportion of people living without access to basic sanitation by the year 2015 - but we are nowhere near on pace to achieve that Goal. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this in his message on World Water Day.

Ghana: children take the lead on World Water Day

The Tuma Kavi Development Association in Tamale is organising a range of World Water Day 2008 events involving a number of "Child-to-Child" Health and Environment clubs in rural areas of Ghana's Northern Region.

Nigeria: federal government backs construction of million latrines

The Federal Government has expressed willingness to support the construction of one million latrines throughout the country.

Zimbabwe, Bulawayo: engulfed by sewage

Sewer pipes in Bulawayo are blocked, resulting in sewage overflowing into the streets from manholes. The city's unsanitary conditions has left residents fearful of a fresh outbreak of cholera.

Africa: AfDB calls for increased efforts for attainment of sanitation MDG

Poor coordination of issues relating to sanitation at the organizational and governmental levels is one of the main constraints to meet the MDG for water and sanitation, says Kordje Bedoumra, Director of the AfricanWater Facility

Africa: AfricaSan Ministerial Statement and Civil Society Statement published

To review, update and adopt national sanitation and hygiene policies within 12 months of AfricaSan 2008 is one of the pledges mentioned in the eThekwini (Ministerial) Declaration made at the AfricaSan conference.

Egypt: lack of proper sanitation systems threatens groundwater, health

Nearly all Egyptians - 98 per cent of the population - have access to piped water but only some have proper sanitation facilities. Not much attention has been paid to the effective and safe disposal of sewage, especially in rural areas, specialists say.

India: Gramalaya WWD event in Tamil Nadu focuses on sanitation and women

Gramalaya, the rural development NGO in Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the few organisations that is focusing its World Water Day event on 22 March 2008 on the sanitation theme.

Nepal: poor hygiene and sanitation causing US$ 150 million losses annually

Poor hygiene and sanitation is causing Nepal more than US$ 150 million per year losses in terms of health costs, loss of economic productivity and the adverse effect on tourism. This striking figure is published by the Steering Committee for National Sanitation Action in its Country plan for the International Year of Sanitation 2008.

Ecuador: Inter-schools WWD 2008 exhibition

Through this inter-schools exhibition, many children and teenagers from different schools of Machala will have the opportunity to show our drinking water situation with an approach in sanitation and health.

Colombia: Agua Transparente programme launched and investment in five water plans

President Álvaro Uribe has launched the Agua Transparente [transparent water] programme, which aims to control the funding used in water projects and the implementation of initiatives, as well as supervising tenders related to water projects, in an effort to avoid corruption.

Latin America: governments sign multilateral water cooperation agreement

Government representatives from Chile, Spain, Peru and Uruguay signed an international technical cooperation agreement on water resources and the expansion of drinking water and sanitation services

Colombia: CINARA has a new Director

Mr. Jorge Latorre is the new Director of CINARA, the Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Agua Potable Saneamiento Básico y Conservación del Recurso Hídrico in Colombia.

East Africa: Population, Health, and Environment network launched

The Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) East Africa Network was launched on 16 November 2007 at the Population, Health, and Environment East Africa Conference in Addis Aababa, Ethiopia.

UK: Partners for Water and Sanitation joins WEDC

Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS), the UK organisation that supports water and sanitation projects in developing countries, moved to WEDC at Loughborough University.

MCC and DFID: agree to coordinate poverty-reduction efforts in Africa

The US-based Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) signed a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase coordination between them and make their poverty reduction efforts more effective in Africa and throughout the globe.

Social Scientist Researcher, IWMI, Hyderabad, India

Organisation: International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka

Apply before Tuesday 15 April 2008

Technical Assistant LVWATSAN, Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Kisumu, Kenya

Applications are invited for Experts from eligible Member Countries or Participant States of the Fund (African Development Bank) for the position of Technical Assistant for the coordinations of the Lake Victoria Region Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (LVWATSAN) – Phase II.

Apply before Wednesday 16 April 2008

Lecturer in Management and Organisation of Sanitation, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

Duration of the contract: initially for 2 years.

Apply before Friday 09 May 2008

Director, Institute of Water Policy, Singapore

Organisation: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy / Institute of Water Policy, Singapore

Apply before Wednesday 30 April 2008

Operation and Maintenance Advisor, Ministry of Water and Environment, Kampala, Uganda

An international assignment with an attractive/negotiable salary in support of the Joint Water and Sanitation Sector Programme Support (JWSSPS) for 2008-2012.

Apply before Tuesday 29 April 2008

WEDC: eight full scholarships available for distance learning MSc 2009

The UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission is offering eight full-fee scholarships for students to study WEDC´s Water and Waste Engineering MSc by distance learning over a period of up to five years, starting in January 2009.

Sustaining Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools: promoting sustainable approaches

Nairobi, Kenya, 07 Jul 08 - 11 Jul 08

One-week course, organised by NETWAS International, to take stock of best practices, learn from and share experiences on current practices in hygiene and environmental sanitation in schools and households.

Scaling Up Community Management for Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes: from systems to service

Nairobi, Kenya, 10-21 November 2008

Organised by NETWAS International, the course addresses key issues in scaling up community management including how to move from micro to macro at regional level, replicating the “best practice” and linking water for people with water for livelihoods.

Household treatment: difficulties in bringing point-of-use water treatment to scale in Guatemala

Even after efficacy was demonstrated within their community and an aggressive sophisticated marketing approach, only 5% of households in a Guatemalan study purchased flocculant-disinfectant for point-of-use water treatment.

South Africa: parish pump politics - the politics of water supply

The energy put in international campaigns against dams, water privatisation or Coca Cola is not matched by the vigour and rigour with which these campaigners tackle the larger and more serious challenges of public organisation and sustainability in the water sector, argues Mike Muller.

Harmonisation and alignment: lessons for donors from the water sector

The Harmonisation and Alignment (H&A) agenda offers important opportunities for the water sector. Lessons from seven Danida-supported water projects suggest that this framework has increased awareness about H&A at the country level, but that progress in implementing these agendas is patchy and heavily constrained by national, political and socio-economic contexts.

Arsenic removal: field testing the Kanchan Arsenic Filter in Cambodia

Developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Kanchan Arsenic Filter is a low-cost household-level technology using simple materials such as gravel and iron nails. After a successful laboratory study, the filter is now being field tested in Cambodia.

Sanitation: update on global funds

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) launched the Global Sanitation Fund on 14 March 2008. A separate initiative, the World Sanitation Fund Project, was announced in 2007 by the World Toilet Organization (WTO) and Ashoka - Innovators for the Public.

Opportunities for sanitation marketing in Uganda

This report presents a brief overview of the Uganda sanitation sector and a presentation of key findings from the trip made by a team of consultants from the Hygiene Improvement Project to Uganda.

The EMPOWERS approach to water governance : guidelines, methods and tools

This book contains guidelines, methods and tools for use in processes of planning and dialogue within and between local and intermediate levels. It describes a practical and logical framework of activities based on the involvement of those who use and manage water.