Global Waters Radio

During the COVID-19 pandemic, handwashing with soap has emerged as one of the simplest and most effective ways to contain the spread of the disease. In celebration of Global Handwashing Day on October 15, the latest podcast from Global Waters Radio takes you to South Sudan and Indonesia to hear from two USAID water, sanitation, and hygiene … Continue reading Celebrating Global Handwashing Day Around the World with USAID →

The latest podcast from Global Waters Radio features a conversation with Jeff Albert and Jesse Shapiro about their involvement with the USAID-supported Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability program, better known by its acronym, WASHPaLS. Jesse Shapiro is a senior WASH advisor at USAID and Jeff Albert is WASHPaLS’ Deputy Director, and both have been closely … Continue reading Jeff Albert and Jesse Shapiro on Researching Best Practices for WASH Service Delivery and Sustaining Behavior Change →

The latest podcast from Global Waters Radio features a conversation with Bruce Gordon, Coordinator for Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), and Oliver Subasinghe, Communications and Data Advisor with the USAID Water Office. Earlier this year, Bruce and his team at the WHO collaborated with U.N. Water to release the 2019 Global Analysis and … Continue reading Exploring the 2019 Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) Report →

Under the terms of Kenya’s 2010 constitution, all of the country’s nearly 50 counties became responsible for providing water supply services to local residents. But that task has often not been an easy one in a country experiencing significant population growth and coping with the impacts of climate change, among other challenges. To help improve the quality and … Continue reading Laying the Foundation for Sustainable Rural Water Improvements in Kenya →

Did you know that more than 2 billion people—or nearly one out of every four people on the planet—deal with high water stress in their lives, according to the U.N.? The impacts on everyday life are considerable. Water insecurity weakens public health, slows economic growth, and too often diminishes young people’s academic and economic potential. … Continue reading Strengthening Water Security to Improve Economic and Environmental Sustainability →

Pipes, treatment plants, and other infrastructure are key pieces of any well-functioning water supply system. But good governance and, the topic of today’s podcast—financing—are just as important as infrastructure to guarantee the successful delivery of water and sanitation services. The World Bank estimates that $114 billion per year of capital investment will be required to … Continue reading How Improved Financing Enhances Water and Sanitation Service Delivery →

Sanitation is one of the world’s most pressing public health challenges. Three out of every five people on the planet, or about 4.5 billion people, face every day without access to safely managed sanitation, while more than 890 million still practice open defecation. With such a daunting level of unmet need for improved sanitation facilities … Continue reading Rolf Luyendijk and Portia Persley on Tackling the Global Sanitation Crisis →

The latest podcast from Global Waters Radio features a conversation with both Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water, and Richard Rapier, Chief of Party for the USAID-supported Water for Africa through Leadership and Institutional Support program. Dr. Kanangire has served as Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water, better … Continue reading Canisius Kanangire and Richard Rapier on Strategic Planning for Africa’s Water and Sanitation Sectors →

Sylvia Cabus serves as Senior Gender Advisor for USAID’s Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. In this podcast, Sylvia speaks with Global Waters Radio about some of the many ways the Agency integrates gender into its water, sanitation, and hygiene programming, and talks about how gender mainstreaming contributes to improved livelihood opportunities for women, better educational access … Continue reading Sylvia Cabus on Gender Mainstreaming in Water and Sanitation Programming →

Jim Peters serves as Deputy Assistant Administrator and Acting Global Water Coordinator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3). Jim’s career with the Agency has spanned more than 20 years, and prior to his current role with USAID, he served as Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Pakistan. In this podcast, Jim speaks with Global Waters … Continue reading Jim Peters on Water Improvements in Kenya and the U.S. Government Global Water Strategy →

For the past eight years, Jacky Ralaiarivony has served as USAID/Madagascar’s water and sanitation program specialist. During that time, he has helped expand the role that public-private partnerships play in the island’s capacity-building efforts to improve water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and has also been closely involved with Madagascar’s successful community-led total sanitation (CLTS) … Continue reading Jacky Ralaiarivony on Water and Sanitation in Madagascar →

Salamatu Garba is making waves across Nigeria. As the Executive Director of the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), she has spent 25 years working to empower Nigeria’s rural women and is coming off an especially big year in 2016 — she became an Ashoka Fellow for Nigeria (designating her as a global change leader) and was nominated … Continue reading Salamatu Garba on the Continuing Impact of Water and Development Alliance in Nigeria →

Aquatabs are one of the world’s most popular water purification tablets, produced by Medentech, a company specializing in manufacture of disinfection products. Through partners, more than 11 billion liters of water were treated with Aquatabs worldwide in 2016. First introduced to the Ghanaian market roughly 10 years ago by the USAID Ghana Sustainable Change Project, … Continue reading Establishing A Sustainable Market For Water Purification Tablets In Ghana →

Christian Holmes is Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, and the Agency’s first-ever Global Water Coordinator. In his capacity as Global Water Coordinator, Holmes has been responsible for overseeing the Agency’s water programming portfolio since 2011. As he departs from the Agency in January 2017, Holmes sat down with … Continue reading Christian Holmes on WASH Accomplishments and Lessons Learned →

Cheryl Hicks is executive director of the Toilet Board Coalition, a public-private partnership that uses market-based solutions to deliver sustainable sanitation improvements, at scale, in communities around the world. In honor of World Toilet Day (November 19), Hicks speaks with Global Waters Radio about the Coalition’s recently launched multi-year partnership with USAID, and the Coalition’s … Continue reading Cheryl Hicks on USAID-Toilet Board Coalition Partnership →

Natasha Wright is a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Global Engineering and Research Lab. In 2015, her team — a collaborative effort between MIT and Jain Irrigation Systems —won first place in the Desal Prize competition, an initiative of the Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge for Development which is funded by USAID alongside … Continue reading Natasha Wright on Solar-Powered Desalination in India →

Robert Dreibelbis is a Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an Assistant Professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Anthropology and Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences. In honor of Global Handwashing Day (October 15th), Dreibelbis shares with Global Waters Radio his experiences with a handwashing behavior change … Continue reading Robert Dreibelbis on Handwashing Behavior Change in Bangladesh →

Nader Al-Khateeb is a founding member of the Palestinian Water Authority, who today serves as Palestinian Director for EcoPeace, a regional environmental NGO with offices in the West Bank, Jordan, and Israel. In his recent interview with Global Waters Radio, Al-Khateeb discusses the recent opening of the Deir Sha’ar pipeline, one of USAID’s largest water … Continue reading Nader Al-Khateeb on West Bank Water Security and the Deir Sha’ar Pipeline →

Emily Rand is a water supply and sanitation specialist at the World Bank, who also teaches about the design, implementation, and evaluation of WASH programs at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In her recent conversation with Global Waters Radio, Rand discusses key findings from recent research produced by the World Bank and UNICEF in … Continue reading Emily Rand on Improved Child Feces Management →

Annabell Waititu is a water and gender specialist who serves as executive director of the Nairobi, Kenya-based Institute of Environment & Water Management. Drawing on her 15 years of experience mainstreaming gender into natural resource management, Waititu talks to Global Waters Radio about why it is important for women to become involved in water management … Continue reading Annabell Waititu on Gender and Water Management in Kenya →

Piet deVries is Senior WASH Specialist and Liberia Country Director for Global Communities, a Maryland-based NGO with programs in more than 20 countries around the world. In his recent sit-down with Global Waters Radio, deVries discussed his experiences in Liberia promoting community-led total sanitation (CLTS) over the past several years, as former chief of party … Continue reading Piet deVries on Sanitation Behavior Change in Liberia →

Eddy Perez is a professor of practice in sanitation at the Emory School of Public Health’s Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. In his recent conversation with Global Waters Radio, Perez talks about his career in the sanitation sector, shares lessons he has learned along the way, and explains why sanitation improvements in … Continue reading Eddy Perez on Lessons Learned and New Trends in the Sanitation Sector →

Darren Saywell is Senior Director for the Water, Sanitation and Health Practice with Plan International USA. Plan International has recently teamed up with the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina on “Testing Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Approaches for Scalability,” an operational research initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this … Continue reading Darren Saywell on Community-Led Total Sanitation →

Christian Holmes is Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, and the Agency’s first Global Water Coordinator. Mr. Holmes is responsible for overseeing the Agency’s global water portfolio. In observance of World Water Day’s 2016 theme — water and jobs — Mr. Holmes talks with Global Waters Radio about the … Continue reading Christian Holmes on Water, Jobs, and Gender Equity →

In May 2015, more than 120 water stakeholders from 22 countries across Africa gathered in Uganda for a Knowledge Forum hosted by the USAID-implemented Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) program. The gathering allowed participants to share best practices and lessons learned for urban water sector reform. To listen to the podcast, click below.