Nearly 1 billion people around the world currently experience water scarcity and the number may rise to 2.4 billion people by 2050. Lack of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services can expose people to preventable health risks, trigger or exacerbate conflict, perpetuate inequality, and hinder participation in society. Why is “safe” access important?…
In the face of rapid urbanization and ongoing political unrest, Ethiopia’s secondary cities face significant challenges in meeting citizens’ needs while contending with overstretched resources, especially for essential WASH services. Ensuring that strong and reliable WASH services are available to everyone is paramount, especially within vulnerable communities. In addition, water and sanitation services must adapt…
Vicente “Vice” Catudio is a digital economy expert with 27 years of professional experience, including nine years in consulting in the financial services industry. He focuses on e-payments and e-commerce solutions and has helped transition the Philippine economy from cash to digital payments. He advocates for financial inclusion and led initiatives to scale adoption of…
Elisha John Soni is a water utility operations expert with three decades of experience leading water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects in Nigeria. Elisha has proven expertise in the management and implementation of WASH intervention projects, providing system and efficiency improvement solutions towards reimagining public utilities. His extensive experience includes utility upstream and downstream operations,…
James Racicot is a water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) engineer with more than 25 years of experience managing capacity building efforts for water utilities in Canada and over a dozen developing countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa — including two assignments in Nigeria. He is an expert in WASH, environmental assessments, and climate…
Jurbe Joseph Godep has more than 22 years of experience in donor-funded water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects, including 11 years in leadership positions. His technical expertise lies at the intersection of government and institutional systems strengthening, as he has worked to bring the voices and concerns of urban, small town, and rural community members…
Vietnam is considered a significant contributor to the world ocean plastic pollution. This harmful practice weakens the resilience of marine and other ecosystems and exacerbates the effects of climate change, which Vietnam is especially vulnerable to; studies estimate that rising sea levels, typhoons, flooding, droughts, and other extreme weather will affect more than 50 million…
The world is facing mission-critical gaps in climate finance and development finance. Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that investment in climate mitigation and adaptation is three to six times lower than it needs to be to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the UN…
Lagos, Nigeria is a densely populated city with rapidly growing urban and peri-urban areas and over 200 informal settlements that pose unique challenges for water supply access. These challenges are exacerbated by poor performance of existing water utilities, inadequate public financing, insufficient water infrastructure, and lack of revenue generation. The lack of access to safe…
For over 30 years, Chemonics has worked with local governments, private sector partners, local communities, and other stakeholders to effectively implement water security, sanitation, and hygiene (WSSH) programs worldwide, ensuring those living in both urban and rural areas have access to safe, clean water. To ensure that WSSH interventions are sustainable and responsive to people’s…