It’s time to turn off the snooze button on the alarm clock and wake up!

Incremental achievements in reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are possible before they “expire” in 2015 if linkages among strategies to achieve various goals are made. MDG 5 demands an improvement in maternal health. MDG 4 calls for an improvement in child health. MDG 7c demands for improved water and sanitation. The links between WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and maternal and child health are evident. Accelerated efforts to improve WASH will not only move us toward achieving MDG 7c, but they will also contribute to the achievement of health MDGs 4 and 5.

According to the 2012 Joint Monitoring Programme Report, more than 780 million people, or 11% of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. About 2.5 billion people in 2010 lacked improved sanitation. An estimated 1.1 billion people, or 15% of the global population, still practice open defecation. The adoption of better sanitation and hygienic practices require easy access to water sources. In fact, five out of six users of improved sanitation also use improved water sources.

Read more: http://blogs.adb.org/blog/wake-advocate-taps-and-toilets-maternal-and-ch...

The objective of this study is to assist public authorities to identify and address the future challenges of urban water supply, sanitation, and flood management in cities. In order to do that, this report uses the conceptual framework of Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) as a holistic set of planning and management tools incorporating all components of the urban water cycle to help develop efficient and flexible urban water systems in the future.

Read more: http://www.scribd.com/doc/107140472/The-Future-of-Water-in-African-Citie...

NATIONAL Freedom Party president and Zululand district mayor Zanele Magwaza-Msibi has promised the poverty-stricken district's residents that a large chunk of this year's budget would be focused on the provision of water and sanitation.

Read more: http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/04/11/magwaza-msibi-promises-to-f...

Alfred Pisani, founder and group chairman of Corinthia Hotels and corporate patron of Just a Drop, the international water aid charity, has dedicated Corinthia Hotels funds to sponsor a project in Tanzania. The project will create two water boreholes for the 30,000 inhabitants of Tabata-Bima in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, including 10,000 students from primary school age to college level, who will directly benefit from the clean water availability.
Read more: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120412/business-news/Corinthia-sponsors-clean-water-project-in-Tanzania.415168

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of USD 100 million to improve water and sanitation in the city of Zaria in northern Nigeria through the African Development Fund, its concessional or ‘soft loan’ arm.

The project will include the rehabilitation, expansion and construction of water and sanitation facilities in the city. Some 1.4 million people will gain improved access to clean water and sanitation. In addition, the project will provide extra benefits for women and girls.

Read more: http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article/afdb-makes-usd-100m-loan-...

Divergent views emerged on how the city is going to solve an impending water crisis at the Bangalore World Water Summit’s concluding day on Friday. “Bangalore is on its way to a very large water crisis if action is not taken immediately. On the health front, too, it is heading toward an epidemic outbreak due to poor sanitation,” said Prof Seetharam Kallidaikurichi, director; Institute of Water Policy.

Read more: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangalore-heading-for-a-water-c...

Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera has said that the typhoid outbreak is due to people eating human waste.

"The mode of transmission for typhoid is the faecal-oral route, that is, through ingestion of bacteria in food or water contaminated with faeces of infected persons.

Read more: http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/news_display/1600616466.html

Many of Asia's poorest people live in unhealthy, squalid conditions, with no clean water or sanitation access. Families cannot escape poverty without water and hygiene infrastructure.

ADB

Nam Theun 2, the Lao People's Democratic Republic's (Lao PDR) largest hydropower facility, was officially inaugurated today, signaling a new era for growth, development and poverty reduction in the landlocked Southeast Asian country.

Over 90% of the electricity generated by the project is being sold to Thailand, providing Lao PDR with a $2 billion revenue stream over the next 25 years.

The funds are earmarked for the nationwide improvement of health and education services, and other poverty alleviation programs.

"This project is a testament to the fact that when hydropower projects are done right, in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, the benefits are considerable," said Kunio Senga, Director General of ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

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For more on the project, click here.

ADB

The Ethiopian Government wants to give everyone a toilet in a country where only a third of its 77 million people have access to sanitation. From rubbish tips in the centre of Addis, to rural orchards across the Rift Valley, Earth Report discovers whether the Governments 'universal access plan' is working.

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