Dr. Nasser Tuqan, Elise Mann

Bridging Borders: The Role of Climate-Resilient Sanitation in Global Peace and Sustainability

  2. September 2024       508      Reading Time: 5 min.

As SIWI World Water Week 2024 kicks off in Stockholm this week, we are reminded of the profound importance of water and sanitation cooperation in fostering peace and security across the globe. This year's theme, "Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future," reminds us of the intricate interconnections between and across communities and nations and emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts to secure a better future for all. Ensuring that sanitation systems are robust and adaptable to climate challenges is not only essential for safeguarding public health but for promoting regional stability and sustainable development. The Climate Resilient Sanitation Coalition (CRSC) of more than 30 leading organizations that work at this intersection recognizes the significance of climate-resilient sanitation (CRS) in building a peaceful, secure, and sustainable future.

Andy Narracott

Breaking the Myths: Common Misconceptions About Safely Managed Sanitation

  22. July 2024       1684      Reading Time: 7 min.

We're nearly 10 years into the SDGs, and unfortunately, we have to call the sector out. Many people still don't understand what safely managed sanitation is. This lack of clarity is hampering authorities to take action to prevent millions of people being exposed to harmful pathogens. We need to resolve this fast because every day, almost 4,000 people are dying from diseases attributable to poor water, sanitation and hygiene, nearly 1,000 of them children under five. 

Lourdes Valenzuela

Brasilia June 2024: SIRWASH Dialogues: Public Policies for Economic Accessibility to Rural Water and Sanitation Services in the Context of Latin American and Caribbean Countries

  5. July 2024       1020      Reading Time: 7 min.

El Taller de Diálogos SIRWASH en políticas públicas para la asequibilidad de los servicios rurales de agua y saneamiento en el contexto de los países Latinoamericanos y del Caribe estuvo organizado gracias a la colaboración entre la Agencia Suiza para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación (COSUDE) Y el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) en alianza con la Fundación Nacional de Salud Brasil (FUNASA). 

English Version below. 

Jeremy Kohlitz, Kaiea Ribanataake Awira, Ngaouea Neemia

Can Kiritimati become a model circular economy society? Water and sanitation as potential entry points

  7. May 2024       4491      Reading Time: 4 min.

Kiritimati Island is a unique place. Situated within the Line Islands group of the Republic of Kiribati, an island country spanning almost 3.5 million km2 of ocean, it isn’t easy to find on a map. The closest international airport (other than its own) is in Honolulu – more than 2,000 km away. The capital of its own country is even farther away. Despite being  the largest coral atoll in the world, as of 2020 only 7,369 people live there.

Ann Thomas

Nature Calls – why sanitation is the logical starting point for fighting climate change

  11. June 2024       3049      Reading Time: 8 min.

In September 2021, Hurricane Ida dropped more than six inches of rain on New York City in a matter of hours. Roughly half of that rainfall, 3.15 inches, fell within the first hour—nearly twice the rate the city’s infrastructure was designed to handle. 

At 11am that day, I got a call from my daughter’s school in the outskirts of the NYC metropolitan area asking me to collect my daughter ASAP. The school basement was filling with water … fast. By the end of the day, the school was shuttered, and the surrounding community evacuated. Meanwhile, outside my front door in suburban New York, neighbours were piling the contents of their basements onto the sidewalk. ‘The neighbourhood’s shit is in my basement!’ one exclaimed. Social media was filled with discordant images of flooded streets and Teslas floating through them.