One
Size Does Not Fit All
Experts
from 100 Countries to Present Innovative “Soft” and “Hard” Water, Sanitation and
Development Solutions at World Water Week in
Timed
just weeks in advance of the United Nations’ five-year review of progress
towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the annual World Water
Week in Stockholm (www.worldwaterweek.org), held from 21-27 August, will present concrete
examples of how problems of poverty,
hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender inequality can
in large measure be solved with water and sanitation as the key entry
points.
Since
development has occurred differently throughout the world, and regional climates
and conditions vary greatly, the 2005 World Water Week in
·
The
“soft” path: The Central American Handwashing Initiative supported by USAID,
UNICEF, the World Bank and five countries in the region demonstrated that
effective partnerships among government departments, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), women’s groups, the private sector and the media can
contribute to effective hygiene promotion and behavioural changes that are
essential to combat diarrhoeal disease and create public
awareness.
·
The “hard”
path: Improved water storage capacity makes national economies more resilient to
rainfall variability and boosts economic growth. In Kenya, improved resilience
to the effects of floods and droughts could make its GDP grow annually at a rate
of at least 5%–6% – the amount needed in order to start effectively reducing
poverty – rather than the current 2.4% annual growth rate.
“In
many cases, a mix of ‘hard’ approaches such as technology and ‘soft’ tools such
as community participation may be needed.” says Mr. Anders Berntell, Executive
Director of the Week’s host, the Stockholm International Water Institute.
“Tailoring solutions to situations will be a key focus during the
week.”
Water
– the Key to Socio-Economic Development and Quality of
Life
Facts
don’t lie: poor
countries with access to improved water and sanitation services enjoyed an
annual average growth of 3.7% GDP; those without grew at just 0.1%.
Over1,300
leading experts on water, sanitation, environment and development issues – from
more than 100 countries – will meet in
With
more than 60 organisations and programmes convening or co-convening workshops,
seminars and side events, the international “consensus” coming out of the World
Water Week in
Many
issues will be discussed during the week, among them climate variability
corruption, financing, gender equity, large-scale infrastructure, sanitation,
water pollution abatement and more. The 2005 Stockholm Water Prize best
represents the multifaceted nature of the events, when
Participants
in
For
more information, visit www.worldwaterweek.org.
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