Solving the Global Sanitation Crisis Discussion Panel – CGI U 2013

Washlink comment: This  is way too short given the panelists, none the less still great to watch.  The first 2 quarters of an hour and last quarter are the best. The third quarter – has audio problems – when the audience give reports from their  breakup group meetings.

Today, more people around the world have access to a mobile phone than a toilet. An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to clean and safe bathrooms, resulting in diarrheal diseases that kill more children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Many developing country governments simply do not have the financial or human capital to deliver improved sanitation to everyone who needs it. Furthermore, many development programs that strive to provide sanitation often fail to have the impact and sustainability needed to scale, and instead distort the market for innovation in the sanitation field. To truly move the needle on this challenge, profitable sanitation services need to be developed so that businesses—rather than nonprofits—can expand access to coverage in ways that will not only increase their profit margins, but also make a major public health impact. This panel will focus on how students can get involved in market creation for sanitation enterprises and will highlight recent innovations and business models that have already been developed by young leaders.

source….

Moderator:

Fred de Sam Lazaro, Correspondent, PBS Newshour, Senior Fellow, Saint Mary’s University

Participants:

• Miriam Atuya,  SANENERGY   sales;  Student, Trinity University
• Edward  Ned Breslin, Chief Executive Officer, Water For People
• Sebastien Tilmans, Co-founder, re.source; Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University
• Gary White, Co-founder and CEO, Water.org

About Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U)

Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges, President Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world.

Each year, CGI U hosts a meeting where students, youth organizations, topic experts, and celebrities come together to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. CGI U 2013 was held at Washington University in St. Louis from April 5 – 7, 2013, bringing together nearly 1,200 attendees to make a difference in CGI U’s five focus areas: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

Related articles:

• Sanitation as a business – the poor will have to wait (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
• Water and Sanitation Seek Rightful Place in Post-2015 Agenda (ipsnews.net)
• WEDC & WSP online learning course – Rural Sanitation at Scale (washlink.wordpress.com)

A good read: The roots of inaction: Understanding and overcoming the obstacles to greater investment in scaling-up effective diarrhea treatment

I urge you to read the  PLoS Blog  post by Oliver Sabot. While ORS is not the the end game,   ORS is unquestionably crutial in the ability to get to the end game : WASH /WATSAN for all.

The roots of inaction: Understanding and overcoming the obstacles to greater investment in scaling-up effective diarrhea treatment

By PLoS Guest Blogger
Posted: August 20, 2012

“”In the second of two posts guest blogger Oliver Sabot from the Clinton Health Access Initiative reflects on the challenge and opportunity of scaling-up access to effective treatment for diarrhea, the second largest cause of child mortality globally. The posts …”