Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awards $42 million for sanitation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced $42 million in new sanitation grants that aim to spur innovations in the capture and storage of waste, as well as its processing into reusable energy, fertilizer, and fresh water. In addition, the foundation will support work with local communities to end open defecation and increase access to affordable, long-term sanitation solutions that people will want to use.

During a speech at the 2011 AfricaSan Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, ”Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the foundation’s Global Development Program, called on donors, governments, the private sector, and NGOs to address the urgent challenge, which affects nearly 40 percent of the world’s population

“The grants announced Tuesday include $3 million toward a university challenge to develop a toilet that costs less than five cents a day without piped-in water, sewer connection or outside electricity.

With these new grants, the foundation’s commitment to Water, Sanitation & Hygiene efforts total more than $265 million.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reinvent the toilet

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced the launch of a strategy called ‘Reinventing the Toilet’ to help bring safe, clean sanitation services to millions of poor people in the developing world.

Through this approach  the foundation and its partners are working to develop new tools and technologies that address every aspect of sanitation—from the development of waterless, hygienic toilets that do not rely on sewer connections to pit emptying to waste processing and recycling. Many of the solutions being developed by the Foundation involve cutting-edge technology that could turn human waste into fuel to power local communities, fertilizer to improve crops, or even safe drinking water.

In a keynote address at the 2011 AfricaSan Conference in Kigali, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the foundation’s Global Development Program, called on donors, governments, the private sector, and NGOs to address the urgent challenge, which affects nearly 40 percent of the world’s population. Flush toilets are unavailable to the vast majority in the developing world, and billions of people lack a safe, reliable toilet or latrine.

“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet,” Burwell said in her speech at AfricaSan, the third African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene, organized by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).

“But it did not go far enough. It only reached one-third of the world. What we need are new approaches. New ideas. In short, we need to reinvent the toilet.”

 

 

Audio Interview: Why $5m Global Sanitation Fund for Nigeria lies idle

Kigali July 20, 2011

In this audio interview, Barry Jackson, the Programme Manager of the Global Sanitation Fund explains why Nigeria has been unable  to access a $5m grant earmarked for the  implementation of  sanitation and hygiene promotion programmes in Cross River and Benue states.

Barry Jackson lamented that though Nigeria has access to huge local and foreign resources, it  does not always have a clear programme on how to implement sanitation and hygiene projects.

Jackson spoke to Babatope Babalobi during a Global Sanitation Fund ‘Sharing and Learning Event’ during the on going Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com

Listen to the interview here:

Africasan 3, Kigali, Rwanda photos

WASH Journalists from West Africa and Rwanda in a group photograph during the Africasan3

WSSCC launches new WASH campaign

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) will launch a new  WASH Campaign today at the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com

Speaking on  the campaign titled :  ‘GDP for GDP – Good Dignity Practices for Gross Domestic Product’, an official of the WSSSCC, Saskia Castelein, said the new advocacy will ‘empower WSSCC members and WASH advocates to communicate with governments to spread the message that there is an economic gain to be made from investing in sanitation and hygiene; and create a movement that champions the real value of safe sanitation across communities and constituencies – change mindset: sanitation challenge is not just a set of problems it offers many possibilities to improve to economic and social reality’

 

Sanitation And Water Management Toolbox

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)  has launched an integrative tool for capacity development at the local level in the sanitation sector.

Presenting the toolbox during the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com Kigali, Rwanda,  an official  Dorothee Spuhler said the tool box links up Sustainable Sanitation, Water Management & Agriculture issues.

 

Media partnership in the WASH sector

The General Secretary of the General Secretary, West Africa WASH Journalists Network, Babatope Babalobi has urged stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector to effectively used the media to get their message across both to beneficiary communities and policy formulators.

He spoke at a capacity building working group during the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com Kigali, Rwanda.

 

Africasan3 Sanitation meetings

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)  organised several working meetings during the

Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com

SuSanA is a network of organisations contributing to the achievement of the MDGs by promoting sanitation systems which take into consideration all aspects of sustainability, i.e. health and hygiene, environmental and natural resources, technology and operation, finance and economics, socio-cultural and institutional

For updates on the meetings visit:http://www.facebook.com/susana.org

 

Agriculture can drive Sanitation

1. Main problems associated with scaling up and incorporation into agriculture policy are buy-in and adoption at national level and High turnover of staff (problems with continuity)
2. Repackaging in a way that appeals to national government. All evidence exists…next step extract and repackage
3. Integration with other sanitation approaches

CREPA’s Experience in Burkina Faso. Presentation at Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) Working Group 5 meeting during the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com July 17, 2011

 

Yvonne Chaka promotes Handwashing with soap

Yvonne Chaka Chaka..yesterday in Kigali

 

South Africa’s Music star, Yvonne Chaka lighted up the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference 3 (Africasan3) www.africasan3.com Kigali, Rwanda, yesterday when she appeared at the Unilever-Lifebuoy behavior change programme.

The singer wearing a dark brown shirt and blouse with three rings of white beard necklaces, was resplendent and  cynosure of attention.

Myriam Sidibe, Global Social Mission Director of Lifebuoy, said Yvonne Chaka has been involved in promoting Unilever-Lifebuoy behavior change programme that cuts across multiple channels of mass, media, mother’s program and packaging.