Source Weekly 2009, 02

Published - 17 Feb 09

International

Cholera: incidence under-reported, millions infected every year says WHO

According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of cholera is being systematically under-reported. It estimates that the disease is infecting millions of people a year, 10 times more than the number of cases reported.

Water crisis: world heads for ‘water bankruptcy’ warns World Economic Forum report

Many places in the world are on the verge of "water bankruptcy" following a series of regional water "bubbles" over the past 50 years that fuelled economic growth, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Global Water Partnership: new global strategy aims to push water higher up the development agenda

The new GWP global strategy for 2009-2013 aims to: promote water as a key part of sustainable national development; address critical development challenges; reinforce knowledge sharing and communications; and build a more effective network.

Uganda, Nyadri district: schools without pit latrines will not open for first term

Education officials in Nyadri district have said schools with dilapidated pit-latrines will not open for the first term.The district inspector of schools, Flavia Droti, said six schools had so far been identified and they would only open after new latrines had been constructed.

Nigeria, Edo State: police hold water board general manager over N2.4 billion fraud

General Manager of the Edo State Water Board, Engineer Monday Umane and four other top staff have been arrested by the Edo State police command over a missing N2.4 billion including an US$ 18 million Paris Club facility to boost water supply to various parts of the state.

Chad: banging pots and pans to end charcoal ban

Prohibited by the authorities from demonstrating in the streets, Chadians banged their utensils from inside their homes to protest the government’s ban on charcoal, which has people in a panic, burning roots, furniture and anything they can find in order to boil water and cook.

Ghana: toilet wars

There was uproar at the infant Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) near Tema when angry National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters descended on the facility seeking the transfer of the ownership of toilets in the sprawling township.

Asia: Unilever to replicate Project Shakti on other international markets

Consumer product multinational Unilever has started replicating the successful Project Shakti in a number of other international markets. The project, run by Hindustan Unilever (HUL), supports women-led rural micro-enterprises in India.

Bangladesh: government reaffirms promise to make drinking water arsenic-free by 2013

Speaking at the biennial conference of the Bangladesh Chemical Society on 30 January, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhit reaffirmed the government's pledge to make the country's drinking water arsenic free by 2013.

Sri Lanka: fewer deaths from dengue fever, but vigilance called for

Four years after Sri Lanka’s worst outbreak of dengue fever, the number of deaths is declining. Health officials are, however, calling for greater vigilance to prevent a resurgence of the mosquito-borne disease

India, Andhra Pradesh: stream polluted by world’s highest levels of drugs

A team of researchers led by Joakim Larsson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has discovered that a stream in Patancheru, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, contains the world's highest levels of drugs.

Bolivia: government turns to UN to help fight dengue outbreak

Bolivia’s government has asked the UN for help in tackling the dengue virus epidemic affecting the country. One of the causes of the epidemic is drought, as it leads people to store rainwater and thus contributes to an increase in the amount of stagnant water.

Brazil: Ipea study finds resources insufficient to solve basic sanitation needs

Although Brazil has increased investment in water and sanitation, this is not enough to handle the country’s urban growth levels

Colombia: anti-crisis investment plan includes US$ 2 billion for potable water initiatives

Colombia will spend US$ 2 billon on potable water initiatives as part of the country’s anti-crisis investment plan. Norte de Santander is Department will be one of the recipients. The Meta Department’s water plan is partially being financed from royalties deriving from oil exports.

Janet Museveni: Uganda’s first lady to promote hygiene

The first lady, Janet Museveni, agreed to become a sanitation advocate during a meeting with the Sanitation Working Group at State House on Monday. “You have my assurance that I will be there for you,” she said.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialists, UNICEF

UNICEF seeks WASH Specialists for planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating UNICEF-assisted WASH activities in developing countries, either in the context of a regular development programme or in the context of an emergency response. The focus of UNICEF-assisted programmes is on WASH for the rural poor and urban slum populations.

Apply before Sunday 15 March 2009

South Asia: ADB to develop improved training programs for water and sanitation operators

The Asian Development Bank is to lead a technical assistance project to build capacity and skills for the delivery of water and sanitation services. The project will be funded by the Republic of Korea.

WEDC: fifteen full scholarships available for distance learning MSc 2010

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom is offering fifteen full-fee scholarships for students to study the WEDC Water and Environmental Management MSc by distance learning over a period of up to five years, starting in January 2010.

Handwashing: only one in four rural Cambodians practice appropriate hand washing

Only one in four rural Cambodians practice appropriate hand washing regardless of access to clean water and hygiene knowledge, according to a recent study by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

Sanitation and hygiene: impact of village and household income in rural China

Rapid economic growth is not always followed by improved child nutrition status. Village income has greater effect than household income on sanitation facilities, hygiene behaviours of caretakers, and child nutrition status. This is the main conclusion from a recent study in a rural cross border area of Yunnan, China.

Hygiene behaviour: exploring intra-household factors for diarrhoeal diseases - a study in slums of Delhi, India

This study, conducted among 300 households in three slum areas in Delhi, found that good storage practices for uncontaminated water do not necessarily lead to lower incidence rates of diarrhoeal diseases.

Sector reforms: lessons and challenges from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

A paper commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, summarises critical water and sanitation sector reform implementation issues by drawing from recent experience in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Service delivery: better accountability improves performance

Based on more than twenty-five case studies (four from the water sector) in over twelve countries, a paper by Bill Tod, SNV’s regional MDG Adviser for Asia, provides lessons from the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation to strengthen the accountability capacity of citizens, government and service providers.

Water treatment: Swede invents solar-powered water purifier

Swede Petra Wadström has invented a device that uses solar power to purify water for drinking. The device, which looks like a jerrycan, can take up to 10 litres of water.

Disinfection: more affordable treatment with ultraviolet light

A new method for disinfecting water safely and cheaply has been developed at a government laboratory in the US. The technology makes use of ultraviolet light.

Fundraising: Twestivals in 202 cities raise money for charity: water

On 12 February 2009, 202 cities around the world hosted "Twestivals" which brought together Twitter communities or Twitterers to raise money for US-based charity: water.

WASH coalition building guidelines

This guide provides a practical introduction to the issues of coalition building, it will raise aspects for consideration on each of these issues and it will discuss some tools and tips.

Multiple use water service implementation in Nepal and India

This book explores the practical implementation of the multiple-use water services (MUS) concept in Nepal and India, focusing on community-level lessons and implications for scaling up the approach.

Key topics in public water utility reform

This report presents a framework of attributes of well-functioning utilities and how they have introduced key institutional changes.

Promoting sanitation and hygiene to rural households

Synthesis of the case study on Sanitation and Hygiene in the Southern Nations region (‘SNNPR’) of Ethiopia carried out in 2007 to look at how success was achieved.

Marketing safe water systems : why it is so hard to get safe water to the poor – and so profitable to sell it to the rich

This publication presents some of the cheap or even free solutions that provide safe water to the poor.

Creditor Reporting System on aid activities 2008: aid activities in support of water supply and sanitation

This publication presents comprehensive statistics on aid flows in support of water supply and sanitation for the years 2001-2006, including trends in donor aid and the degree of targeting of countries most in need.

India Water Portal launches Schools Water Portal

The India Water Portal has launched the Sch2ools Water Portal, a platform for teachers and educators, students and parents, principals and school management to share learning resources on water.

3rd Children’s World Water Forum

Istanbul, Turkey, 12-17 March 2009

The Children's World Water Forum (CWWF) tradition was established in Kyoto at the 3rd World Water Forum and attracted just over 100 children at each of the previous two editions.

Counter World Water Forum

Istanbul, Turkey, 10-22 March 2009

International and local water activists will be hosting a series of events in Istanbul before and during the 5th World Water Forum. At the same time solidarity events will be held around the world during the Global Week of Actions for Water Justice from 14-22 March 2009

Singapore International Water Week

Singapore, 22-26 June 2009

The theme of the 2nd Singapore International Water Week is “Sustainable Cities - Infrastructure and Technologies for Water”. The five highlights of the Week are: Water Leaders Summit, Water Convention, Water Expo, Business Forums and Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.

First International Conference on Advances in Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

Tehran, Iran, 30 June - 02 July 2009

Main topics include: industrial and municipal wastewater treatment; water recycling and reuse; sustainable management, policies and laws; new technologies; membrane & separation technologies; reactions and transport phenomena in wastewater treatment; process modeling and simulation; special pollutants; and education and case studies.

Global Conference on Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water

Singapore, 05-08 October 2009

This conference will deal with human health, risk and policy issues, detection technology, treatment and management strategies, tropical water quality issues, water security, and disaster management and response.

5th International Conference on Fog, Fog Collection and Dew

Münster, Germany, 25–30 July 2010

The scope of this conference is to bring together people who are interested in any aspect of fog and dew, including both advanced scientific findings and practical applications of fog and dew collection.