Barbara Rossmiller is currently a director in Chemonics’ Water, Energy and Sustainable Cities (WESC) practice, responsible for technical leadership in water, sanitation, and hygiene programming. She is a senior water and sanitation, sector governance, and institutional strengthening specialist with nearly 30 years of experience in international development. In previous roles as chief of party, Barbara led…
Prompted by winter storm Uri, Texans experienced one of the largest blackouts in U.S. history last February. Loss of power, coupled with pump failures and burst pipes, led to a boil-water notice for more than 14 million residents. Many died of hypothermia and carbon-monoxide poisoning while trying to stay warm. CBS News reported the storm…
With the need for basic water services on the rise in lower-income countries, how can a systems approach ensure water and sanitation interventions are resilient to the impacts of external factors like COVID-19 and climate change? This event explored mainstreaming adaptation into water programs through a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationships of all stakeholders…
Osama Amad has managed the wastewater component of Lebanon CSP since 2019, implementing several sustainable municipal wastewater infrastructure interventions and industrial pretreatment technologies. He has more than 30 years of design, construction, and operations & maintenance experience in the water/wastewater sector. Prior to Chemonics, Osama was a Superintendent with a leading water/wastewater utility in the…
Between June 2010 and December 2016, the USAID Southern Africa Regional Environmental Program (SAREP) provided technical support to the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission to enable it to meet elements of the objectives in its strategic action plan, while responding to other related needs in areas adjacent to the basin. From the onset, SAREP…
In Tajikistan, rural communities lack access to essential goods and services, which contributes to a high prevalence of childhood undernutrition, stunting, and other poor health issues. Increasing access to clean water and sanitation can improve these outcomes. The USAID Rural Water Supply (RWS) Activity partners with local governments, communities, and businesses to develop and improve…
Bilal Al Ayoubi is the Task Order 2 director of USAID’s Lebanon Community Support Program (CSP). He previously served as the senior program development specialist on the Chemonics-implemented Lebanon Civic Support Initiative and as senior transition advisor for the Yemen Stabilization Initiative with Development Transformations, both projects funded by USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives between…
The USAID Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Activity (TAWA), which aims to raise incomes by engaging rural women directly in agricultural productivity while also boosting awareness of better nutrition and sanitation behaviors, has integrated learning and continuous improvement in its standard operations. By embedding a sense of collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) practices…
Despite advances in rebuilding Lebanon’s physical, social, and economic infrastructure, many Lebanese citizens experience inadequate access to public services and economic opportunities. The Syrian conflict has placed additional strain on communities, reducing cross-border trade and bringing an estimated 1.5 million refugees to Lebanon. Host-community fatigue and tensions over resources and livelihoods are mounting. In response,…
On Tuesday, November 12, Chemonics awarded two teams of young problem-solvers with funding and ongoing support to continue development of their innovative solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Presented by Chemonics’ Executive Vice President Jamey Butcher, the award was part of the company’s commitment as Lead Scale Partner of the UNLEASH global innovation…
To reach 50,000 farmers — 70 percent of them women — in 4.5 years, USAID’s Feed the Future Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Activity (TAWA) developed the nutrition-sensitive Farm to Fork capacity building program. The program, based in the Khatlon province of Tajikistan, particularly targeted women farmers of reproductive age or those with children under age…
Through the Financial Sector (FS) Share task order, the USAID Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade (EGAT) and Chemonics proactively collaborated with missions to identify financial sector priorities and develop strategies and programs to grow the financial sector. This primer was prepared by Caroline Averch and J. Mauricio Gutierrez of Chemonics with support from USAID EGAT and The U.S. Treasury International Affairs Office of Technical…