Published in Global Waters·PinnedUsing Wastewater Surveillance to Monitor COVID-19As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many national and local governments are turning to a surprising source of data to track the latest surge of the virus: pathogens in the wastewater in their sewage systems. This approach has long been used to help monitor the spread…Wastewater5 min readWastewater5 min read
Published in Global Waters·PinnedClosing the Equity Gap: Water and Sanitation Data Can Help Us to Ensure No One is Left BehindNew data revealing disparities in access to water and sanitation by ethnic group offer a powerful tool to help policymakers, program managers, and advocates take action to leave no one behind — the transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a central focus of USAID Administrator Samantha…Access To Clean Water5 min readAccess To Clean Water5 min read
Published in Global Waters·PinnedClean Hands Save LivesSustaining Positive Handwashing Behavior Change During COVID-19 and Beyond When the world was thrown into the unknown at the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, one thing remained true: handwashing is our first line of defense against the spread of infectious diseases. With nearly 2.3 …Hand Washing3 min readHand Washing3 min read
Published in Global Waters·Oct 17, 2022Sanitation and Hygiene Influencers Making the DifferenceWilliam Musoni spends his days working as a laborer. When he’s not working, he educates communities in Rwanda’s Eastern Province on good hygiene practices, with a special focus on handwashing. …Sanitation3 min readSanitation3 min read
Published in Global Waters·Aug 17, 2022An Audacious Plan to Deliver Safe, Reliable Water to All of Rural Benin… Profitably.Can an ambitious public-private partnership lead to the successful delegation of rural water supply management to small businesses for an entire country in sub-Saharan Africa? Benin offers a test case. In a 2020 article, Dr. Rob Hope and collaborators in Oxford University’s REACH program described aspects of scale, demand, institutions…Benin3 min readBenin3 min read
Published in Global Waters·Aug 12, 2022Inclusive Development in India: USAID Partners with Local Transgender Community on WASHChallenge 1: All over the world, including in India, transgender individuals are targets of discrimination and often lack legal recognition of their gender identity and access to essential services such as education, employment, as well as safe and stigma-free health care. Challenge 2: In India, stress on water and sanitation…5 min read5 min read
Published in Global Waters·Jun 22, 2022H2O Maghreb Empowers Moroccan Women to Play New Roles in Sustainable Water ManagementWhen Saadia started working as an engineer for a public water utility in Morocco, she was always “the only woman at the table,” she recalls. Today, as a trainer at the International Institute of Water and Wastewater (IEA) in Rabat, she helps prepare young people — including many young women…Women Empowerment5 min readWomen Empowerment5 min read
Published in Global Waters·Jun 13, 2022A New Law, a Billion Dollar Loan Fund, and the Path to Better-run Water UtilitiesAs of 2020, Vietnam had the highest levels of rural water coverage among any country of comparable economic level, with coverage equivalent to countries with two to three times its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). …Water Utility4 min readWater Utility4 min read
Published in Global Waters·Apr 25, 2022Keeping it REAL for the Future of Rural Water Services DeliveryKeeping it REAL for the Future of Rural Water Services Delivery Providing safe, reliable water supply to rural populations is among the most difficult challenges of international development. …Rural Water6 min readRural Water6 min read
Published in Global Waters·Mar 16, 202210 Ways USAID is addressing Water Scarcity in IraqAbdi Ali, a farmer in Ninewa, proudly shows off a recently harvested pepper. USAID equipped Ali’s farm with a solar panel to pump water from his well, which helped him better irrigate his crops. Photo Credit: ICRI Ta’afi for USAID. In Iraq, rising temperatures, reduced rainfall, and dropping water levels…5 min read5 min read