February 2012
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Stone Foundation Launches Prize for Innovation and...
The Stone Family Foundation has recently launched a new £100,000 Prize—the Stone Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Water. The prize seeks to find and support exciting new initiatives focused on improving the quality and access to drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia. The Foundation hopes the Prize can be used to take early-stage initiatives to the next...
January 2012
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Ford Targets 30 Percent Water Reduction Per...
In December, GWC Member Ford Motor Company announced plans to target a 30 percent reduction by 2015 in the amount of water used to produce each vehicle. From the Press Release:
Ford’s latest water reduction initiatives are designed to build on the success the company has had with its Global Water Management Initiative that launched in 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, Ford reduced its global...
December 2011
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In Case You Missed it: H2O for Life on ABC News
This month, ABC News featured H2O for Life on a special broadcast to highlight their work to improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools around the world. H2O for Life matches schools in the United States with schools in developing countries to raise funds for improving WASH conditions in schools in need. In the video above, learn how H2O for Life worked with HB Woodlawn...
Dow One World|One Water Series Highlights Efforts...
Dow recently released a series of videos called One World|One Water that highlights their work to provide drinking water and water treatment equipment to those who needed it most in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti in early 2010. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Dow committed to deliver 20,000 gallons of clean water per day to two Haitian communities:
ONE WATER is an epic...
Reps. Blumenauer, Poe Introduce Water for the...
On December 14, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Representative Ted Poe (R-TX), along with a bipartisan group of ten representatives, introduced the Senator Paul Simon Water For the World Act of 2012 in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill is an important step in maintaining American leadership on global water, sanitation and hygiene issues and ensuring that existing investments...
November 2011
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a child’s right Joins GWC, Launches ProvingIt
Around the world, children are forced to drink unsafe water at home and in schools, orphanages and even medical facilities. a child’s right (acr) was founded in 2006 on the simple belief that every child has the right to clean water. Their vision, as they say, is “a world with clean water for all children — and a museum telling of when it was not so.”
acr works in China, India,...
Interfaith Leaders to Urge Congress to Save...
WASHINGTON – Leaders of numerous religious denominations and faith-based organizations are gathering this week to discuss the relationship between U.S. moral and humanitarian values and American foreign development assistance policy. The U.S. Senate is expected to consider the Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations for the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs in the coming days.
...
October 2011
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Merck Funds Quarters for Water Program in Uganda
ChangeALife Uganda (CALU) recently announced a grant of $35,000 from Merck to support the organization’s Quarters for Water program. Quarters for Water provides clean, on-site drinking water for students of St. Lawrence School and their rural village of Migyera, Uganda. From CALU’s October Newsletter:
These funds will allow us to proceed with the next...
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Edward Norton and Water For People Invite You to...
Actor Edward Norton and Water For People have released a video highlighting the world water crisis and inviting people to join their “Donate to Drink” campaign on Crowdrise.
Water For People and their partners are offering incentives for donations:
Get a bracelet made in Rwanda when you donate $25 to $99.
Get a red stainless steel water bottle generously provided by Marmot...
September 2011
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GWC, H2O for Life at the Support My School...
At the Support My School Telethon this Sunday, GWC Program Director Maurie Carr presented a check on behalf of GWC member H2O for Life that will support WASH interventions in eight schools in the state of Gujara. Watch the video of the check presentation below!
For more information on GWC’s involvement with Support My School, click here.
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It’s All in the Water – Check Out New Video...
GWC and its members The Coca-Cola Company and Proctor & Gamble teamed with the WASH Advocacy Initiative to draw attention to the issue of women and water at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The group developed a hopeful short film that depicts the importance of safe water, sanitation and hygiene to women, girls and their communities. The film, It’s All in the Water, was produced with...
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GWC, WASH Advocacy Initiative Convene Webinar on...
Last week GWC and the WASH Advocacy Initiative convened a webinar that brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders interested in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector to discuss options for post implementation monitoring. This event was aligned with the WASH Sustainability Charter and focused on providing attendees with several concrete and practical tools that can be used to...
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GWC, Merck, Coca-Cola, H2O for Life Partner for...
Today, GWC, along with members Merck and H2O for Life, announced support for the Coca-Cola NDTV Support My School campaign, an initiative to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and other facilities in schools across India.
The Support My School campaign is expected to directly impact at least 50,000 students in 100 schools across India. Each of the 100 schools will receive improved...
Let's Start a Charity Navigator for Program...
The following is a guest blog from Marla Smith-Nilson/Water 1st and Ned Breslin/Water For People
“It has become overwhelmingly clear that the main obstacle in the use and maintenance of improved water and sanitation systems is not the quality of technology, but the failure in qualified human resources and in management and organization techniques, including a failure to capture community...
August 2011
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Running Through Stockholm: Nearly 200 Sessions in...
Wow! Big week, big discussions. Couldn’t make it?
Cities were the topic for the week. A new report was released by WWF on how water shortages will increase in the world’s biggest cities, and how to tackle the challenges ahead. But what about measuring progress against those challenges? Luckily, JMP, the Germans, French, Swiss, SIWI and UN Agencies teamed up to shed light on the challenges of...
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In The Age of Water, Companies Have a Leading Role...
Today, GWC CEO Monica Ellis published a piece on Mother Nature Network about the role of the private sector in addressing global water issues:
It’s a very powerful thing when companies understand their environmental footprints and take positive action for the greater good. Every time a company takes these steps, it stimulates momentum. It is this momentum that continues to fuel new investment...
GWC Launches New Impact Map for Sector
GWC has recently developed a new interactive map to help stakeholders better understand the challenges and opportunities of the global water crisis by region and country. In addition to GWC and its member activities, the map contains water, sanitation and water usage statistics that illustrate the world’s diverse water contexts. Beyond viewing what GWC and its partners are doing to combat the...
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GWC Partner Sarar Transformación Hosts WASH in...
In the Upper Copalita watershed of Oaxaca, Mexico, Sarar Transformación (Sarar-T) has changed the way three communities think and act toward sanitation and water access and management. Schools in San Miguel Suchixtepec, San Pedro El Alto and San Marcial Ozolotepec have historically had little to no access to water and sanitation. In response, Sarar-T is working to provide access to water and...
July 2011
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WASH Sustainability Charter: Protecting Tomorrow's...
Somewhere in the world, a broken water pump sits idle in a field. A few years ago, a well-intentioned group installed the system and captured terrific pictures of smiling children as the mayor cut the ribbon on the new pump. Clean, fresh water started flowing and the community sprang to life. Until the pump broke. Now, those children don’t smile as they miss school and trek long distances to fetch...
EcoLogic Promotes Sustainability in Rural Honduras...
EcoLogic believes that the people who live near or in a threatened ecosystem are best positioned to repair and protect that system for the long-term. For seventeen years, EcoLogic has acted on that belief, collaborating with the rural poor in Central America and Mexico to build their capacity as environmental stewards. EcoLogic works to help them acquire the skills and support needed to conserve...
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Call for Action: Water for the Poor Act...
On July 27, the House of Representatives’ State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to finalize the Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act. Read on to learn how you can help prevent drastic funding cuts. The Water for the Poor Act has helped to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. In Fiscal Year 2009 alone,...
June 2011
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Water.org: The Giving Network
Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org has become a leader in the WASH sector by collaborating with local partners to create sustainable change for
hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. Water,org’s initiative, The Giving Network, transforms the relationship between NGOs and donors by providing an online platform for the public to track projects...
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U.S. Schools Partner for WASH in Schools with H2O...
GWC member H2O for Life continues to work with schools in the United States to connect them with schools in the developing world to fund WASH projects. The organization focuses both on raising awareness of the issue among American students and providing WASH in schools for students in need around the world.
Recently, two U.S. schools completed projects to raise money for the organization. H-B...
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Ford Releases 2010-2011 Sustainability Report
This week, GWC member Ford Motor Company released its annual Sustainability Report, in which the company details its efforts to maintain best in class operations in the areas of water, climate change, supply chain management, vehicle safety and long term company health. In 2010, Ford identified water as a top sustainability concern, reduced water use per vehicle by 8.5 percent and began to define...
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Dow Convenes "Future of Water" Virtual Conference
On Tuesday, June 7 at 11 am EST, Dow Chemical is hosting a virtual thought leadership conference on “The Future of Water.” The conference will convene 60 leading thinkers including GWC Co-Chair Bill Reilly, five GWC board members, GWC CEO Monica Ellis and representatives from members Acumen Fund, Blue Planet Network, Project WET and the WASH Advocacy Initiative.
Each of the leaders...
May 2011
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G8+ Science Academies Release Joint Statement on...
Last week, the Science Academies of the G8+ joined together to release a statement on water and health. The statement, signed by representatives of the Academies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States lists health and socio-economic impacts of safe water and sanitation and gives recommendations to...
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For Mother’s Day, the Greatest Gift of All
When I was growing up, Mother’s Day was always about making a stress-free day for my Mom. Caring for three kids and keeping track of all the soccer practices, band lessons and the occasional detention was a lot to manage. So on Mother’s Day each year, my brother, sister and I went to great lengths to make sure that she could sit back, relax and have one day of rest. From serving her breakfast...
Safe Water for Africa Partnership to Bring Water...
This week at the World Economic Forum on Africa, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF), Diageo plc, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and WaterHealth International (WHI) announced Safe Water for Africa (SWA), a strategic partnership to work with communities to drive the expansion of WHI’s innovative water service delivery model across the continent.
TCCAF, Diageo, and WHI have...
April 2011
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Rep. Blumenauer: Pass the Water for the World Act
GWC member PSI published a blog post from Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3) that praises the Water for the Poor Act of 2005 and highlights the importance of passing the Water for the World Act:
The Water for the Poor Act has helped increase access to drinking water to 30 million people, provided access to improved sanitation facilities to over 15 million and disinfected more than 9 billion...
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Why Earth Day is a Good Day to Care about Water...
Earth Day is a great occasion for people around the world to come together to talk about environmental issues and highlight the major problems that the environment faces each and every day. In that spirit, we’ve collected a list of ten reasons why Earth Day is a great day to care about water and sanitation (in no particular order):
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, inadequate...
March 2011
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Dow Releases White Paper on Water for Cities and...
Dow Water and Process Solutions recently released “A Different Look at Water: Part 1: Water for Cities and the Water-Energy Nexus.” The paper discusses a range of issues that cities will have to face in the coming years as population growth and urbanization continue.
It should be no surprise that the demand for water outstrips its ready supply everywhere around the world. As global...
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U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Celebrates A-WASH...
A pupil of Kiwanja Primary School in Same, Kilimanjaro region demonstrates proper hand washing techniques to U.S Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso E. Lenhardt (third from left) Photo Courtesy U.S. Embassy, Tanzania.
On March 30, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso Lenhardt joined school children, parents and school and local officials to celebrate the completion of Kiwanja Primary...
Watch Secretary Clinton's World Water Day Remarks
On World Water Day, March 22, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and World Bank President Robert Zoellick signed a memorandum of understanding committing to closer collaboration between the World Bank Group and the United States Government on efforts related to water.
Secretary Clinton used the opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to water issues around the...
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Coca-Cola Helps Improve Lives of African Women and...
On World Water Day, The Coca-Cola Company and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation announced the dedication of $6 million in 2011 to water and sanitation partnerships aimed at improving the lives of an estimated 250,000 African women and girls. Jeff Seabright, Vice President for Environment and Water Resources for The Coca-Cola Company, announced the commitment as part of a high-level leadership event...
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SPLASHNOTES: Project WET/UN HABITAT Workshop...
Water champions from around the globe joined forces to explore how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) education can be made sustainable through the incorporation of basic human values in a workshop sponsored by Project WET and UN-Habitat on March 20th in Cape Town.
A lead-in event to international observances of World Water Day, the Human-Values-Based Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education:...
World Water Day SPLASHNOTES
Below are the SPLASHNOTES from the integration workshops that were held at the World Bank on World Water Day. We will be posting the video from the event at the World Bank that featured Secretary of State Clinton and World Bank President Zoellick on the blog soon. Check back to see the whole event!
Integrating Advocacy to Improve Access to Nutrition, Safe Water and Health
On World Water Day...
World Water Day: Nudges for Safe Water
The Freakonomics Blog has a really interesting post for World Water Day about how chlorine is a simple action that can help provide safe water.
Diarrheal diseases claim two million lives each year worldwide—a loss that is especially tragic because it is so needless. There is a cheap, highly effective ways to treat and prevent diarrhea, but it is woefully underused. Chlorine—dilute chlorine...
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Conversations with America: Global Water Issues
Did you miss yesterday’s live webcast of the U.S. State Department’s “Conversations with America” video series? You can watch the full episode in the player below! In this session, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero joined the co-chair of the Global Water Challenge Board of Directors Harriet Babbitt for a conversation on Global Water Issues in...
No More Money Down the Drain: Draft WASH...
During the second WASH Sustainability Forum on January 14, 2011, participants brainstormed ideas and concepts for a common definition and guiding principles of WASH sustainability. As a result of these discussions, Global Water Challenge (GWC), Water For People, Aguaconsult and Deloitte have worked together to summarize the ideas and concepts into a draft WASH Sustainability Charter.
As discussed...
Follow World Water Day Happenings with GWC
Here is what you can expect from GWC next week as we follow the events of World Water Day. GWC will be active on Facebook and Twitter with live updates and World Water Day communications in addition to posting notes to the blog from many of the events for those who cannot attend. We will also be following what GWC Members are doing throughout the week. Be on the lookout for the following!
Monday...
Join a Discussion on Global Water Issues
Join us on Monday, March 21 for a live webcast of the U.S. State Department’s “Conversations with America” video series. In this episode, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero will join the co-chair of the Global Water Challenge Board of Directors Harriet Babbitt for a conversation on Global Water Issues in recognition of World Water Day on March...
World Water Day Coalition Announces Event with...
The World Water Day Coalition has announced an event to be held on World Water Day that will feature remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, as well as representatives from the philanthropic sector and The Coca-Cola Company. At the event, the US government and the World Bank will agree upon a Memorandum of Understanding between regarding...
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Lessons from Coca-Cola to Prevent Cholera
Melinda Gates has a really interesting post on the Gates Foundation blog about lessons that can be learned from the The Coca-Cola Company and how applying their strategy to global health programming can help to make it more efficient and impactful.
The three main points of my TEDxChange talk were that Coke constantly uses real-time data to maximize its operations; it leverages the talent of...
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Water For People CEO Wins 2011 Skoll Award for...
Today the Skoll Foundation announced that Ned Breslin, CEO of GWC-member Water For People, is one of four recipients of the 2011 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. This award highlights a select group of social entrepreneurs who have made a significant impact around the world.
Ned Breslin, Water For People Breslin spent more than 16 years in Africa working on water and sanitation...
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GWC Publishes Regional WASH Backgrounders
In anticipation of World Water Day, GWC has released a set of WASH background documents. These backgrounders were developed as overviews of the water, sanitation and hygiene conditions not only around the world but also for specific regions including the Americas, Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Each backgrounder identifies key local challenges,...
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Solange Knowles Joins Coca-Cola Campaign For Clean...
Singer Solange Knowles recently teamed up with The Coca-Cola Company to help raise funds for the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN). Along with singer Chris Taylor and musician Twin Shadow, Knowles created a “donate to download” single titled “Kenya”.
Fans can donate as much as they can for the track and bosses at The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation are hoping to raise...
WASH Sustainability Forum Report Released
On January 14, 2011 nearly 100 representatives from over 50 organizations came together to discuss one of the most pressing challenges in the delivery of safe water around the world: sustainability. Nearly half of all water projects are known to stop working earlier than expected, wasting billions of dollars in investment and leading to the loss of countless lives. Making programs more sustainable...
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PATH Affirms Commitment to Global WASH Issues
Check out this great blog post by Chris Elias, President and CEO of PATH, an international nonprofit organization committed to global health solutions:
In the US, we tend to take clean water and toilets for granted, and when an American child does get diarrhea, it’s a minor inconvenience. For children in the poorest countries, though, diarrhea can be a death sentence, which makes prevention...