Source Weekly 2008, 6

Published - 25 Sep 08

International

Sanitation: slow progress, action crucial, say 2400 experts in Stockholm

Slow progress on sanitation will cause the world to badly fail the Millennium Development Goals while weak policy, poor management, increasing waste and exploding water demands are pushing the planet towards the tipping point of global water crisis. Action is crucial, stakes are high and time is running out were key messages coming from the 2008 World Water Week in Stockholm.

G8: disappointment at lack of “a breakthrough in the global sanitation and water crisis”

Hopes of a "breakthrough in the global sanitation and water crisis" at the 2008 Hokkaido Toyako G8 summit were "dashed as the G8 delivered a communiqué largely devoid of concrete actions to help the 2.6 billion people lacking access to a safe toilet, and the 1.1 billion people lacking access to clean water", according to End Water Poverty coalition.

Dr. Christian Fiala: funding in Africa has gone to AIDS instead of other priorities like water

Unfortunately, the almost hysterical focus on HIV/AIDS in Africa has done much harm over the last two decades.

Madagascar: President determined to solve sanitation and water problem

President Marc Ravalomanana of Madagascar was the only president in the world who attended the 2008 World Water Week held in Stockholm, Sweden. At the opening session he said that he had set the sanitation and safe drinking water problem as top priorities in his country.

Mozambique: agreement signed for sector wide approach in water

The Mozambican government and its partners signed the second round of the Code of Conduct with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the establishment of a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) for the water supply area.

Sierra Leone: ministry aims to introduce Community Led Total Sanitation

Most residents in Kenema city and those who are visiting the Maxwell Khobe street market known as Fisheries market, openly defecate in the Lambayei stream that runs across the city.

Tanzania: Biwater fails in 2006 damages claim

A British water company thrown out of Tanzania over a bungled privatisation deal has failed in its bid to win up to £10m in damages.

Yemen: updating the National Water Sector Strategy and Investment Plan

The decentralisation of water management needs to be speeded up.

Abu Dhabi: Arab Water Academy launched

High level officials from more than 15 Arab countries, including 8 ministers in charge of water, and some 80 water experts from the Arab region and beyond attended the formal launching on 6 July 2008 of the Arab Water Academy.

India: rising costs hit total sanitation campaign

Rising steel and cement prices have affected cost estimates of many of the Indian central government's development projects, including its total sanitation campaign.

Nepal: water and sanitation to be taught in schools

The Ministry of Education and Sports is to introduce education on water and education in ten schools in Nepal. The objective is to teach children to conserve water and adopt good sanitation practices.

El Salvador: Green Network on corporate environmental responsibility launched

El Salvador’s President and the Environment Minister have launched the “Green Network”, a network that seeks to get the private sector involved in environmental projects aimed at helping the nation’s neediest schools.

Dr. Jacqueline Kirk killed in Afghanistan

Dr. Jacqueline Kirk, recently appointed Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Education at McGill University, was killed together in southern Afghanistan on 13 August 2008.

Charity: Water For People receives 4-star rating from Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator, has given Water For People its highest 4-star rating for sound fiscal management and the ability to effectively manage and grow its resources.

Advertising: Belgian water campaign wins award at Cannes Lions 2008 advertising festival

A “viral”campaign, organised by the Belgian radio station Studio Brussels and the Red Cross, to raise money for drinking water projects, has won a prestigious “Titanium Lion” award at the Cannes Lions 2008 International Advertising Festival.

AMCOW: Bai-Mass Taal the first Executive Secretary

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) Executive Committee (ExCOM) has appointed Mr. Bai-Mass Taal as the first Executive Secretary.

Water Integrity Network: Teun Bastemeijer new manager

Teun Bastemeijer is the new manager of the Water Integrity Network (WIN) as of April 2008.

Global Sanitation Fund: Barry M. Jackson selected Programme Manager

Mr. Barry M. Jackson, a British national with extensive experience in sanitation and in pro-poor financing for development, is the first Programme Manager of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council’s (WSSCC) new financing mechanism, the Global Sanitation Fund .

Quamrul Islam Siddique dies in US

Quamrul Islam Siddique, former Secretary at the Bangladesh Ministry of Works and Housing, died on 1 September 2008 in New Jersey, USA.

Water and Environmental Sanitation Specialists, India

UNICEF India is seeking six Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) Specialists for its Child's Environrment Programme. The positions are open to Indian nationals only.

Apply before Saturday 30 August 2008

WatSan Projects Manager, Kabul, Afghanistan

The Projects Manager will manage WatSan projects in line with their objectives, budget and timeframe.

Apply before Sunday 31 August 2008

Water Sanitation and Hygiene Coordinator, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Action Contre La Faim is looking for a Water Sanitation and Hygiene Coordinator (m/f) to organise and supervise the implementation of its technical strategy in water sanitation and hygiene.

Apply before Friday 12 September 2008

Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES) Specialist, UNICEF, Senegal

Under the guidance of the Regional Senior WES Advisor, the WES Specialist will provide WES technical support, with special attention to the following focus areas: Sanitation promotion, Hygiene Education, and WASH in schools.

Apply before Saturday 25 October 2008

Program Officer - Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Gates Foundation, USA

Responsibilities include developing, executing and managing high-impact grants; and contributing to developing the WS&H strategy, enhancing external and internal relationships, and improving team effectiveness.

Apply before Friday 31 October 2008

Senior Program Officer - Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Gates Foundation, USA

The Senior Program Officer (SPO) will play a leadership role in the WS&H initiative, taking primary responsibility for developing, executing and managing a complex portfolio of high-impact grants.

Apply before Friday 31 October 2008

Fundamentals of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

Washington D.C., USA, 10-21 November 2008

The course focuses on the key elements of water planning and management, including the rationale and objectives of IWRM, the planning and processes of a program at all government levels, administrative/organizational decentralization, and stakeholder participation.

SWITCH Training workshop: Advancing Learning Alliances to increase research impact

Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil , 26-28 November 2008

The Sustainable Water Management Improves Tomorrows Cities Health (SWITCH) project is a research partnership funded by the EC undertaking innovation in the area of integrated urban water management (IUWM). The aim of this workshop is to advance and consolidate the establishment of learning alliances in SWITCH and other similar projects and programmes through the sharing of experiences and lessons learned.

Arsenic: predicting groundwater arsenic contamination from surface parameters

Arsenic contamination of groundwater resources threatens the health of millions of people worldwide, particularly in the densely populated river deltas of Southeast Asia. This study helps predict arsenic contamination in the region.

Diarrhoea control: alternative method estimating child mortality

Planning and evaluation of interventions to control diarrhoea deaths and to reduce under-5 mortality is obstructed by the lack of a system that regularly generates cause-of-death information.

Decentralisation: local governments and user groups plan and implement water supply schemes in India

WSP-SA field note documents the progress of three large, river-based schemes in Kerala, India. The schemes are the first to be planned and implemented by local governments and user groups.

Scaling-up: key lessons for up-scaling and out-scaling of UK-funded development research

Key lessons for up-scaling and out-scaling research based on 19 key reviews, summaries and reports detailing natural resources research funded the UK Department for International Development (DFID)

School sanitation: ITT launches ITT Watermark

The ITT Corporation has launched ITT Watermark, a philanthropic programme to provide water and sanitation to 300 schools in Asia and Latin America.

Grant: IFAD supports the linkages between sanitation and agriculture

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has awarded a grant to CREPA and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to manage a project entitled “Testing a nutrient recycling system (Productive Sanitation Systems) in Niger with a view to measuring its potential for improving agricultural productivity”.

Waterlines, edition on South Asian sanitation

The July 2008 edition of Waterlines, the international journal of water, sanitation and waste, features some of the most promising approaches to water and sanitation problems in South Asia.

Financing water and sanitation at local levels

WaterAid carried out analyses in 12 developing countries in Africa and Asia to identify key blockages and systemic weaknesses that stand in the way of development finance reaching local authorities responsible for delivering water and sanitation services.

UNICEF handbook on water quality

This handbook provides an introduction to all aspects of water quality, with a particular focus on the areas most relevant to professional staff members working in developing countries.

Participatory water monitoring

This advisory note provides hands-on guidance for implementing successful participatory water monitoring programmes. It gives examples of practical models to achieve participation in different environmental, financial and governance contexts.

The advocacy sourcebook

The aim of the sourcebook is to assist WaterAid staff and partner organisations, as well as others in the sector, in drawing up advocacy action plans that aim to improve the water supply and sanitation situation of the poorest people in the countries where they work.

One fly is deadlier than 100 tigers: total sanitation as a business

This booklet analyses the total sanitation programme in Bangladesh and describes methodological tools. It comes with an accompanying CD.

MSF Field Research

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Doctors without Borders - has launched a new website where the organization makes freely available published research that is based on its medical work in the field.

RiPPLE blog

A new RiPPLE blog aims to “initiate debate, invite comment, stimulate creative thinking and push forward [water and sanitation] sector learning in Ethiopia and Nile region countries.

WaterSISWEB: social bookmarking water website

WaterSISWEB is a free social bookmarking web site for water resources professionals. It is part of the SISWEBS (Scientific Information Syndication WEBsiteS) family of websites.

World Water Monitoring Day

International, 18 September 2008

World Water Monitoring Day™ (WWMD) is an international education and outreach programme that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Some 12,000 water monitoring kits, including bars of soap and a hand-washing fact sheet, will be distributed to people in more than 50 countries as part of the “Wash Your Hands, Save a Life” campaign.