Color my water and sanitation rights challenge

Dear teachers and parents, and above all, dear girls and boys,

I believe that we, elders cannot be proud to leave you a world with so much injustice, poverty, pollution and violence. However, I am sure that you will know how to build a world much better. Water is the blue soul of life and human rights are the soul of human solidarity. That is why I encourage you to participate in the campaign “Color my Human Rights to Water and Sanitation” for World Water Day, on March 22nd. We leave you a…

Corruption is deadly, but difficult to stop

About 10 percent of what is invested in the water sector alone is lost to corruption. That is the distressing figure estimated by the Water Integrity Network (WIN) [1] in their 2016 global outlook report. To put it in numbers, the sector sees nearly USD 75 billion evaporate each year, perhaps even more if one takes into account that there is still no reliable data on the financial impact of corruption in the WASH sector. But the breadth and depth of corruption goes beyond economic losses: both the environment and society — especially…

Development cooperation remains a strong pillar for SDGs

Live aid, dead aid, or better aid [1]? The debate about the role of development cooperation in fostering sustainable development has not escaped its share of controversy. Whilst the international community [2] advocates for increasing the volume of aid flows to the world’s least-developed countries, others demand to reform, curtail, or stop it altogether. Over the decades, dissenting voices from economists such as Milton Friedman, Peter Bauer, William Easterly, Angus Deaton, and Dambisa Moyo have criticized the “aid business”, charging that it has perpetuated bad governments, undermined growth, and eroded the much-needed…

Measuring affordability is key to managing it

What cannot be measured cannot be managed, or so they say. In the realm of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, great attention has been paid to measuring one particular aspect of services: their affordability. Such emphasis on having reliable affordability metrics is due to several reasons. First and foremost, they facilitate the design of appropriate and effective strategies to address the potential economic barrier to access. Second, they help policymakers (and utility managers) understand the effect of their decisions on the people they serve. …

Simvai — interview with friends of the human rights to water and sanitation

The most disadvantaged always get hit the worst

In January 2018, Cape Town (South Africa) made global headlines[1] when it was announced it would become the world’s first metropolis to run out of water. After 3 consecutive years of severe drought leaving reservoirs perilously low, local officials announced the city was inexorably heading towards Day Zero[2]. That doomsday, initially set for April 12, brought in a countdown clock for the nearly 4 million residents of Cape Town. An extensive water demand management program was put in place to reduce water use and consumption. …