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Brian Arbogast to Lead Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Program: Announcement by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
press release 206-709-3400 media@gatesfoundation.org
SEATTLE — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that Brian Arbogast has been named director of the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene program. He will start work at the foundation on May 13, 2013.
“Brian has more than 20 years of experience leading teams around the world. He is well equipped to drive an innovative program that is helping bring sanitation services to people in developing countries,” said Chris Elias, president of Global Development at the foundation.
Arbogast was previously with Microsoft Corporation. Most recently, he concentrated in cleantech and international development to drive market solutions that address the world’s most pressing challenges. He served as a Senior Advisor with The Boston Consulting Group and as a board member of the Northwest Energy Angels. He is a founding board member of Progress Alliance of Washington. He has served on the board of Water1st International and as a senior advisor to Upaya Social Ventures.
Arbogast received his Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a Certificate in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute.
About The Water, Sanitation & Hygiene program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Water, Sanitation & Hygiene program focuses on the development of tools and technologies that can lead to radical and sustainable improvements in sanitation in the developing world. Although we support some clean water and hygiene projects, sanitation is our top priority because we have identified it as a neglected area in which we can spur significant change.
A sanitation facility in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, that was built by a public-private partnership to improve urban sanitation.
Because the innovations we support can be most immediately valuable in densely populated areas, our main focus is on urban sanitation and the public policies that can support new sanitation delivery models in cities. Our priorities include identifying and testing delivery models that governments and the private sector can use to extend quality service to all residents of a city, not just those in wealthier neighborhoods. Ultimately, improved sanitation will be a key to ensuring healthy, sustainable cities in the developing world, and the approaches that prove successful can then be adapted and extended to rural communities.
Our strategy to build global demand for better sanitation also includes efforts to end open defecation in rural areas and to implement improved measures for collecting waste, removing pathogens from waste streams, and recovering valuable resources and energy.” source / more…
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
source : press release & foundation site. Photo is from Northwest Energy Angels site
First Water Integrity Forum: 5 – 7 June 2013
“…Extend the base – Increase the pace”
“…To address the need for extending the reach of water integrity action…”
Organized by:
- Water Integrity Network (WIN)
- Water Governance Centre (WGC)
- UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
Where
- In the Netherlands at UNESCO-IHE
When
- from 5 – 7 June 2013.
The main objectives of the forum are:
- Take stock of progress in addressing corruption issues in the water sector
- Share knowledge, approaches and experiences
- Build alliances to address the integrity challenges in the water sector;
The forum will bring together co-convening partners and various important stakeholders such as policy makers/regulators, investors, private sector, NGOs and other water professionals from different continents and with different backgrounds. They will share theories, approaches, cases, tools, lessons, views and ideas about improving water integrity. The forum will last 2,5 days with sessions, working groups, round-tables and an open-space. The outcomes of the Forum will the basis of a publication on Water Integrity, and will feed into other processes and events on the road to the World Water Forum in 2015.
key work stream:
- Work stream 1 Water, food and energy
- Work stream 2 Water resources management in river basins
- Work stream 3 Rural WASH
- Work stream 4 Integrated urban water management and services
- Work stream 5 Tools to diagnose and assess Integrity
- Work stream 6 Tools to improve, build and monitor integrity
- Work stream 7 Processes to scale up integrity
Source for all core content is from http://www.waterintegrityforum.com/
Webinar: Water, Integrity and Corruption : April 25 hosted by The Water Channel
Why Water and Integrity? Webinar #6
| Date and time: | April 25, 1300 GMT (Click here to see what time that would be where you live) | |||
| Speaker: | Binayak Das, Water Integrity Network | |||
| Click here to enter the webinar | ||||
Description:  |
Water will determine what world the future generations will live in. But this precious resource is underpinned by bad governance and lack of integrity. In many countries shortcomings are not due to shortage of water resources but due to governance failures, such as institutional fragmentation, lack of coordinated decision-making, corruption and low levels of transparency and accountability. The result is that governance systems are often not able to prevent or even provide incentives for unethical behaviour and poor professional practice. Corruption is moreover all pervasive and affects all aspects of the water sector – from water resources management to drinking water services, irrigation and hydropower, it occurs in all phases – from design through construction to operation and maintenance – and it is a major factor in the global water crisis. Integrity issues are often at the core of conflicts around water, which are arising at local, country and international levels.Improving water governance requires transparency, accountability and fighting corruption. It requires the right knowledge, access to strong partnerships and good tools. Improving water integrity means working with preventive measures to promote transparency, accountability and participation in water. Lessons have already been learnt from this preventive work. | |||
| About the speaker: | Binayak Das is the Programme Coordinator for Knowledge Management and Action Research at the Water Integrity network and also is focal point for South Asia. He has been associated with the water sector for the past 13 years – as a journalist, writer, researcher, coordinator and consultant.The Water Integrity Network (WIN) was formed in 2006 to respond to increasing concerns among water and anti-corruption stakeholders over corruption in the water sector. It combines global advocacy, regional networks and local action, to promote increased transparency and integrity, bringing together partners and members from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia, to drive change that will improve the lives of people who need it most. | |||
| Related Resources | ||||
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| About the Webinars: Web-based Seminars | They are presentations or lectures transmitted over the Web. With support from IFAD, TheWaterChannel started a series of Webinars on a variety of topics under three themes related to rural poverty alleviation. The Webinars will be organised together with our partners UNESCO-IHE and Cap-Net, and will feature some well-known experts on these topics. The Webinars will be collaborative; the participants will be able to communicate with the resource persons in real-time. Apart from lectures, there will be key resources, polls and question-answer sessions. | |||
Source for all core content is http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/webinar
Related articles
- Long lasting change is about good governance and national ownership (guardian.co.uk)
- WATER RISK: Scarcity and Disruption to Water Provision Affect the Global Economy; Industry and Investors Meet with Water Sector Leaders at Major Summit in Seville (prweb.com)
- In Africa, corruption dirties the water (irinnews.org)
- Corruption Perception – Is it getting better or worse? (letyourheartsout.wordpress.com)
Request for Application: Study of Urban WASH Impacts… 50K+ award
RFA Title:
Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density and Neighborhood-Level Sanitation Access to Fecal-Associated Health Impacts
Posted on:
Site of The Translating Research into Action (TRAction) Project
“…Is a five-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leader with Associate Cooperative Agreement. This health research grants project focuses on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and other related services. The project is directed by University Research Co., LLC in collaboration with partner Harvard University School of Public Health.”
Questions Due:
Monday, April 1, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)
Applications Due:
Monday, April 29, 2013, 5:00pm (EST)
The purpose
“Is to fund research involving the secondary analysis of data that will more fully characterize the relative health impact (i.e., diarrheal diseases, STH infections, and anthropometric measures in children) of sanitation coverage in areas marked by high population densities compared to those with lower population densities.”
Focus of the Research
Research Goals and Objectives
AWARD to achieve the purpose of this RFA:
The TRAction Project anticipates
- making one or more awards of
- approximately 50,000-100,000 USD each
Results:
“Results of this research will be shared with national decision-makers, program implementers, researchers,and other stakeholders to promote learning and inform the targeting of sanitation interventions.”
About TRAction:
“The Translating Research into Action (TRAction) Project is a five-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leader with Associate Cooperative Agreement. This health research grants project focuses on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) and other related services. The project is directed by University Research Co., LLC in collaboration with partner Harvard University School of Public Health.”
source of all content comes from web site and first pdf below
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| WASH RFA– Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts.pdf | 376.06 KB |
| Appendix E_TEMPLATE SubAgreement Template.pdf | 139.19 KB |
| budget template.xls | 153 KB |
Related articles
- Empirical Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density and Neighborhood-Level Sanitation… (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
- Desk Review Study of Urban WASH Impacts: Research on the Relationship of Population Density… (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
- Public Defecation In India Helping To Create A Stunted Generation (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
- The long and short of open defecation (thehindu.com)
The Wello Water Wheel Story : Cynthia Koenig at TEDxGateway
Cynthia talks about the often underestimated problem of water weight and how this problem is preventing millions of women from educating and empowering themselves. She points about the fact that ‘water is heavy’ using real life examples in Rajasnthan, India. Not only is water heavy but also time consuming and limiting women of important opportunities. She talks about her invention “wello” where she & her team have reinvented the wheel. She brings the water wheel on stage, explaining the design and features in this product, allowing the audience to see this easy to use, yet immensely life changing water wheel.
Cynthia’s Profile on UnreasonableNetwork -(really, a good site)
Other drums solutions
- The Q Drum
- The hippo Roller
- Aquaport (status unknown after 2010) video
Related articles
- Wello’s WaterWheel – Rolling Towards Healthier Communities (learningaboutsocialenterprise.wordpress.com)
- Social Entrepreneurs That Innovate Around Women And Clean Water (siliconvalleywatcher.com)
- Q-Drum re-invents the wheel by adding water to solve a water transport crisis for the world’s poor.
Where we get our fresh water – Christiana Z. Peppard TED-Ed
Very quick! synopsis of global water consumption Serves as great intro for deeper exploration of water or tangential topics.
Also see the following video by the two
Fresh water scarcity: An introduction to the problem
TED-Ed
TED-Ed’s commitment to creating lessons worth sharing is an extension of TED’s mission of spreading great ideas. Within the growing TED-Ed video library, you will find carefully curated educational videos, many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed platform. This platform also allows users to take any useful educational video, not just TED’s, and easily create a customized lesson around the video. Users can distribute the lessons, publicly or privately, and track their impact on the world, a class, or an individual student. – See more ….
Images and text from Ted-ed site
The 2nd African High Level Forum on Water and Sanitation
The forum is organized, in collaboration with the Government of Senegal. This High Level Forum will follow up on the outcomes from the 1st HLF in Ouagadougou as well as capitalize on its successes.
DATE:
It is from the 12th to the 14th of December 2012
LOCATION:
Dakar, Senegal, at
Hotel King Fahd Palace, Pointe des Almadies, Dakar (Ex Hotel Meridien President)
Theme
“Innovative Financing and Investments to accelerate access to water and sanitation in Africa.”
Main Objectives
-
To advance the development of new and existing financial and investment mechanisms in the WASH sector for accelerated access to sanitation and water for all.
-
To facilitate linkages and the engagements between investors and innovators towards expansion and scaling up of innovation on WASH products and sanitation services in Africa.
-
To catalyze the strengthening of systems and frameworks that support and facilitate the translation of the various high level declarations on WASH on the Continent into actions
Major Attractions
– Innovations fair
- Ministers and Donors Round Table
- Business to Business (B to B) sessions
- Launch of Africa Sanitation Think Tank
- Launch of Sanitation and Water for Africa
Development Initiative Fund (SaniFund)
- Gala Dinner
Participation
- High level Government officials from Africa
- Small and medium scale entrepreneurs in water and sanitation
- Donors and Investors
- WASH Sector Researchers and practitionners
- Other Invited Special Guests
Links
- General Information
- List of invited Ministers
- Meet a Minister!
- Register on-line!
- Contacts
- 2012 Forum Agenda
- Second HLF 2012 announcement
- French Version
all content is taken from forum site
Catarina de Albuquerque addresses stigmatization of groups who lack water and sanitation.
UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque has called on states to address the issue of stigmatization of groups and communities because of lack to water and sanitation.
She presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council focusing on the links between stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation.
The 22 page PDF report “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque | Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation“
is available in English French Spanish Arabic Chinese(Mandarin) Russian
Summary from Report:
“The Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation submits the present report in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 16/2. She focuses on the links between stigma and the human rights framework as it relates to water and sanitation. She has found that stigma, as a deeply entrenched social and cultural phenomenon, lies at the root of many human rights violations and results in entire population groups being disadvantaged and excluded.
The Special Rapporteur seeks to convey an understanding of stigma and to elucidate its drivers. She links stigma explicitly to water, sanitation and hygiene before examining different manifestations of stigma. She situates stigma in the human rights framework considering, in particular, human dignity, the human rights to water, sanitation, non-discrimination and equality, the prohibition of degrading treatment, and the right to privacy. Based on this analysis, the Special Rapporteur seeks to identify appropriate strategies for preventing and responding to stigma from a human rights perspective, before concluding with a set of recommendations. She emphasizes that States cannot fully realize the human rights to water and sanitation without addressing stigma as a root cause of discrimination and other human rights violations.”
- Introduction
- Understanding stigma and its drivers
- Stigma and its links to water, sanitation and hygiene
- Manifestations of stigma
- Situating stigma in the human rights framework
- Identifying appropriate strategies for prevention and response
- Conclusions and recommendations
Strategies for prevention and response detailed in the report include
- Participation and empowerment
- Awareness-raising to break taboos and challenge stereotypes
- Legislative, policy and institutional measures
- Adopting targeted interventions
- Adopting technical measures .
- Ensuring access to justice
Related articles
- California law on human right to water sets example for others (bikyamasr.com)
- Water Makes Waves at UN General Assembly Debates (circleofblue.org)
Keeping informed about WASH : Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Newsletter
The “Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Newsletter ” from WHO is a nice newsletter to subscribe to. Its easy to skim but usually has a couple of great morsels of information with links that you will want to click through to.
If you would like to be added to their mailing list please email LISTSERV@who.int with the following:
To subscribe please include the text “subscribe WATERSANITATION” in the body of your email message.
Here is a sample of the latest newsletter. I can’t find a web page, it appears to be only be accessible in a email
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Newsletter N° 158 / 10 August 2012
Click on the links below to view abstracts of some of the papers included in the latest issue of the journal:
http://www.iwaponline.com/washdev/subscriptions.htm
For a sample copy: http://www.iwaponline.com/sample.htm
To register for Contents Alert: http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=mailings
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Newsletter Details:
TO SUBSCRIBE
To subscribe please include the text “subscribe WATERSANITATION” in the body of your email message.
Related articles
- Water and Sanitation in Schools: A Systematic Review of the Health and Educational Outcomes (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
- Drinking water and sanitation conference (thehimalayantimes.com)
- Rs35K crore toilet sop for BPL families (dailymail.co.uk)
- Help a local journalist examine the sustainability of a water and sanitation project in Benin (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
New book:The Human Right to Water / Significance, Legal Status and Implications for Water Allocation
Inga T Winkler has write a new book, published by Hart Publishing . The Human Right to Water is available at a variety of online sites.
Sadly the price of $100 (US) is out of reach for many. Given the importance of the topic we need to figure out how share this knowledge freely.
The publisher’s summary is as follows:
“The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council recognised the human right to water in 2010. This formal recognition has put the issue high on the international agenda, but by itself leaves many questions unanswered. This book addresses this gap and clarifies the legal status and meaning of the right to water through a detailed analysis of its legal foundations, legal nature, normative content and corresponding State obligations.
The human right to water has wide-ranging implications for the distribution of water. Examining these implications requires putting the right to water into the broader context of different water uses and analysing the linkages and competition with other human rights that depend on water for their realisation. Water allocation is a highly political issue reflecting societal power relations, with current priorities often benefitting the well-off and powerful. Human rights, in contrast, require prioritising the most basic needs of all people. The human right to water has the potential to address these underlying structural causes of the lack of access to water rooted in inequalities and poverty by empowering people to hold the State accountable to live up to its human rights obligations and to demand that their basic needs are met with priority.”
The Core Chapters from the table of contents(pdf) are:
- Background: Water Availability and Competing Demands
- Legal Foundations of the Human Right to Water
- Legal Characteristics of the Human Right to Water
- Human Rights Implications for Water Allocation
- Benefits of Understanding Water as a Human Right
- Conclusion and Outlook
The publisher provides the 14 page introduction as a preview
Details
376 pages Hardback
ISBN 978184946283
Related articles
- Is the UK’s recognition of right to sanitation half-hearted? (sanitationupdates.wordpress.com)
- Water as a Human Right for the Middle East and North Africa (falastinpress.wordpress.com)
water sanitation new
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