Chicago 2016 Olympics Bid: Water!

Water makes it to the big game...

I was just digging through the recently-submitted Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics and found some very encouraging language on global water:

“Chicago will partner with the Olympic Movement to help address the worldwide fresh water crisis. Chicago 2016’s concept of the Blue-Green Games, which refers to the blue of the fresh water lake and the green of the city’s expansive parklands, features a portfolio of environmental initiatives. These efforts will provide access to fresh water, resources and technology to regions of the world in need, thus making sport more accessible to all.”

Water Positive

“Chicago 2016 intends to create a positive impact on water resources during the Blue-Green Games and will achieve this objective through three main strategies. First, although Chicago is not located in a region where water is a scarce resource, water conservation at all levels is immensely important. CHICOG will reduce the amount of water used in the Village and venues by 20 percent. The plan will focus on storm water collection and reuse and the application of best practices for water management and conservation at venues and the Village.

Second, CHICOG, in conjunction with the Chicago Climate Exchange, will pursue the creation of an innovative Water Markets program to advance water sustainability issues and economic incentives for conservation.

Third, and most ambitious, CHICOG will develop an innovative Water positive program, a global water access initiative to bring clean water to developing communities around the world. In conjunction with NGOs and NOCs, this new program will bring opportunities for the greater pursuit of sport in developing countries and will become a legacy of the Chicago 2016 Games.

Water Positive will:

• Establish the Water Access through Sport program in international sporting locales to increase clean water access as well as opportunities to actively pursue sports.


• Achieve a 20 percent water use reduction at the venues and Olympic Village.


• Incorporate water conservation and water reuse technologies in the venues and Village.


• Educate spectators and visitors about water conservation and water sustainability during the Games.

The linkages between sports and development challenges are clear and go both ways. Children and athletes need safe water and sanitation to remain healthy and hydrated, and sports can be used to raise awareness of water issues around the world. Kudos to the Chicago 2016 team for recognizing these linkages and acting on them.

Twestival - Where Twitter Meets Safe Water

Q: Does Twitter actually add value to society?

A: Yes. Twestival.com

Regardless of the ongoing debate in my head about whether Twitter does indeed add value to society - who really needs to know when I'm on the john anyhow - the Twitter folks had me from "Hey - we're trying to raise money for safe water projects around the world for charity: water - want to help?"

charity: water rocks. Scott Harrison and his crew are playing to their strengths in promotions, events, celebrities for good causes, and raising a lot of money for high-quality nonprofits like Action Against Hunger, Partners in Health, and Water For People.

The safe drinking water and sanitation challenge is arguably the world's largest public health crisis.

And Tweet. Meet. Give. brings this reality to a whole new set of players in 160 cities, including each of yours. Let's get twittering.

The Time of Cholera

By now we have all read of the cholera situation in Zimbabwe (or should have). It sucks - and has been caused by any number of mostly if not entirely preventable factors far beyond simply the gnarly water and sanitation situation there.

Although it is difficult to step back and look at the cholera outbreak more broadly right now, let me add a couple of thoughts:

- this crisis highlights the need for a holistic approach to water for people: safe drinking water supplies, sanitation facilities and hygiene (handwashing) interventions are all required. Cholera is not spread simply by water, but by water contaminated by human feces which has not been adequately treated, and by dirty fingers, food, etc.

- this cholera outbreak also highlights the need for tight language in appropriations for the Water for the Poor Act, the Water for the Poor Enhancement Act, and other related legislation, e.g. on child survival. That language needs to focus on people and poor. Period.

- safe drinking water and good sanitation facilities are both the prevention of and the cure for cholera. It is much more efficient to prevent cholera and other diarrheal diseases than to treat them. Ask Peru about the economic/financial costs of prevention vs. cure when a cholera outbreak cost their economy $1b+ a few years ago.

- cholera is now a regional health and economic issue, and could become a regional (southern Africa) security issue quite easily with the xenophobia prevalent in the region.

- Zim is not alone. Cholera outbreaks are occurring or have recently occurred in Kenya, Peru, the Philippines, Malawi, Zambia, DR Congo, Angola, Nigeria, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, South Africa and others.

So: try to keep as many Zimbabweans alive in the short term, keep cholera from spreading beyond its current borders in the medium term, and let's do what we can to prevent it from happening again by addressing water, sanitation and hygiene in the long term.

Water Innovations Alliance - Launch in Washington DC

The Water Innovations Alliance invites you to attend its founding meeting:

December 3, 2008
11:00-2:30
At the office of K&L Gates in Washington DC
1601 K St. NW (entrance on 16th St.)
202.778.9000
RSVP to info@waterinnovations.org

The Water Innovations Alliance is the public policy voice of the world's water innovators. The Alliance's role is to advocate policies that promote the aggressive development of water technology and innovations across all sectors and all users of water by creating new market opportunities through increasing funding and removing barriers to deploying new innovations.

The Alliance also serves as a platform to improve awareness and collaboration between large companies, universities, start-ups, NGOs and utilities within the water sector – exposing all key stakeholders to new technologies, innovations and prospects.

The Alliance is developing groundbreaking reports and policy briefings, hosting events, conducting member surveys, and tracking new technology developments to increase awareness of new water develops, needs, and opportunities. The Alliance is collaborating with its members as well as other global water organizations to support a global agenda for safe, fair and sustainable water policies.

The Alliance was founded by leaders in the water, investment, technology and non profit field. It is jointly headquartered in Cambridge, MA and Washington DC. For more information go to: http://www.waterinnovations.org (launching 12/01/08).

The Founding Meeting will be an opportunity to help set the course of the Alliance. Attendees will include will include leaders from key water-related sectors, as well as researchers, funders, public entities, and grassroots groups.

Supporting the membership will be an advisory committee of highly-regarded water technology experts from around the globe, as well as a team of veteran technology association executives with years of experience representing broad coalitions. Please join us in Washington DC on December 3, 2008 and take part in building a new movement in water.

Flush it?!? I would LOVE to.

Here is TIME Magazine's review of Rose George's book The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters:

Flush it.

OK, fine. Well, hold on. I am writing from India, where 700m of us don't have the luxury of a flushing john with which to flush our bacteria-laden poo much less books about sanitation. I am writing from Ethiopia, where only 8% (sic) of my rural compatriots have even the most basic sanitation facility. I am writing from Nicaragua, where only 34% (sic) of rural inhabitants have a place to go to the bathroom besides the jungle. And might I encourage Andrea Sachs to compete with passersby for a space on the sidewalk in front of her office next time nature calls? See for example, the questions posed by this campaign from the German Toilet Organization.

For that matter, how about Freddy and Sara, Ms. Sachs' two shelter cats, being deprived of their litter box? Would that change her mind as to the primacy of the sanitation issue?

I don't have the luxury of flushing away a well-written, well-documented, eye-opening book about a global health crisis that kills five times (sic) as many under-fives as does HIV. I'd like to be able to pull the handle on a porcelain toilet to wash out of sight a book which brings to light the fact that diarrheal disease kills twice as many under-fives as does malaria, and sickens billions (sic) more.

Ms. Sachs writes "A series of articles was plenty on this topic," and she also suggests reading it is an "ordeal by ordure." I am mildly impressed by her alliteration, but was a series of articles enough to focus the world's attention on HIV/AIDS? How comfortable were we discussing HIV twenty years ago? Did our discomfort make HIV a less worthy cause? Was an oped in the Washington Post enough to get the world's attention on malaria, or safe drinking water?

Only when sanitation (shit, diarrhea, feces, cholera, dysentery, 2m dead under-fives each year) becomes as compelling to talk (and blog) about as HIV/AIDS will the proper amount of effort be dedicated to inadequate sanitation. This remains arguably the world's gravest public health challenge, whose gravity siphons off innumerable resources from other less preventable health challenges and development priorities. And fatal diarrhea is preventable.

So, now that we are past the nonsense of a "series of articles" being enough, how about we start with a cover story on TIME to highlight the global sanitation challenge, and the work, for example of the Global Sanitation Fund? Or maybe more feature articles on Rock, Paper, Scissors are a better use of newsprint?

Love,

John

Global Handwashing Day

Wash Your Hands

Mom's sage advice, and the way out of poverty.

Unsafe water, then inadequate sanitation, then dirty little hands, then feces goes from food and fingers into mouths, and diarrheal disease is transmitted. Kids are sick, stay out and drop out of school, don't learn, don't earn, and the cycle of poverty continues.

So...

Happy Global Handwashing Day!

Data point: the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal reported that 42-47 percent of all diarrheal transmission could be stopped by handwashing with soap (Curtis, Val, & Sandy Cairncross. (2003, May). "Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the community: A systematic review." Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal 3(5), 275-81.)

A couple of examples of the good work being done to alleviate poverty through simple handwashing campaigns:

Madagascar

In Madagascar 19,300 primary schools will participate in a week-long event. Handwashing with soap activities involving schools and the community, culminate on October 15th with 3.5 million children washing hands with soap at noon. President Ravalomanana will lead the Day. Three Ministries have issued a joint statement to the Prime Minister to officialize Global Handwashing Day. A parade of schoolchildren through the capital is planned for October 15th.

Panama

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health are supporting an event on October 15th in an elementary school close to Panama City. Children will wash their hands together with high representatives from both Ministries.

Justice Kennedy's Fierce Urgency of Now

Last weekend Stanford University held its third "Roundtable at Stanford" - subtitled "Wanted: Courage, Compassion and Character - Leadership for the 21st Century."

It's an interesting chat, futuristic but set squarely in the context of our present day challenges. Much of the conversation revolved around how the U.S. can regain its global leadership position in the coming years by essentially working smarter not harder.

At about the 49:00 mark of the discussion, Justice Kennedy gets wound up about water because of the failure of society writ large to tackle some of the world's most basic challenges, but also because of his hope in and optimism for this and future generations to meet those challenges.

To paraphrase his remarks:

"The best security is in the world of ideas, and the world of ideas must be concerned with the human condition. This is not my area, but there are 6 billion people on the planet and over 2 billion do not have adequate drinking water. How many hours - and you can't call it man hours because it's women's work - how many hours a year are spent in sub-Saharan Africa bringing water to the family? Answer: 16 billion hours - with a "b" - and that is the lowest estimate. For some people that's 6-8 hours a day to get water for their family. You take a photo in sub-Saharan Africa of the elegant, stately African woman with the long colored dress and the water jug on her head - that jug weighs more than the luggage allowance at the airport."

Then it gets REALLY groovy. Justice Kennedy continues:

"The temptation of the rule of law is to say well, you have the Magna Carta, you wait 600 years, then you have a revolution, then a civil war. What about Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'fierce urgency of now'! These people cannot and will not wait and they should not." Talk to me.

That was Justice Kennedy, and it is not the first time he has spoken to the global water situation. One other quick comment worth mentioning:

The bane of my existence is that many people do not believe the world's water and sanitation challenge is solvable. Stanford University's David Kennedy was talking about leadership at different levels - talking about credibility, trust, authority. The first order of business for the U.S. is to reestablish our credibility globally. The key for the U.S., however, is NOT that we have to be heard to be believed. The key is that we have to be believed to be heard. And that's the stickler - large numbers overseas no longer believe that the U.S. is 'here to help.' Overcome that credibility hurdle, and it will be much easier once again for the U.S. to be a true leader.

Same with the water sector: overcome the 'doability' hurdle - get people to believe in the solvability of the challenge - in the viability of universal access to safe water and sanitation - and we're one huge step toward getting there.