IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre
Bridging the knowledge gap and joint learning with partners for improved, low-cost water supply, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries.
Learning for change
Learning alliances are 'used' in different initiatives to bring together stakeholders, one such initiative is LeaPPS (Learning for Practice and Policy on Household and School Sanitation & Hygiene) in Uganda. The overall aim of LeaPPS is to generate more cost-efficient and effective sanitation and hygiene programmes, sustainable facilities and behaviours. So changes need to take place to be able to realise this overall aim. Through sharing of experiences in a learning alliance changes will take place for the better.
LeaPPS_LearningAlliance_article_change_alliance.pdf (165 kB)
In Focus: Water quality: theme of World Water Day 2010
It is still a reality that an estimated 1.1 billion people rely on unsafe drinking-water sources. Therefore the theme of World Water Day 2010 is focusing on raising awareness of water quality. IRC offers a wide selection of documents looking at the different aspects of water quality such as water treatment, health and technology. This information is for instance, available via the IRC digital library, the Source Newsletter and the web site itself. You can post your own activities on the World Water Day web site.
Nepal: Children from 200 schools spread messages on point-of-use water treatment and hand washing
Addressing safe water options at school in Nepal is a bigger challenge than at household level. No safe water products on the market can handle the high volume of water demand in an average school with 300 students, particularly in light of the operation and maintenance challenges.
Climate change: water evaporates from Copenhagen negotiations, say campaigners
The latest draft of the negotiating text on climate adaptation has deleted any clear references to water and its management, said campaigners at a pre-Copenhagen event in Barcelona.
Water briefs for U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
U4 is an anti-corruption resource centre for donors operated by the CMI Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway. Recently IRC have prepared three briefs for U4 on the water sector. The briefs cover 1) petty corruption at the consumer/ provider interface, 2) links between corruption and institutional reforms in the sector such as SWAPs and separation of roles and functions, and 3) grand corruption in major infrastructure projects.
Papers from bi-lingual conference on sanitation in Ghana
The bi-lingual West Africa Regional Symposium on Sanitation and Hygiene (3-5 Nov 2009, Accra, Ghana) brought together about 140 participants from 17 countries. It was jointly organised by the Resource Centre Network Ghana, UNICEF, West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI), WaterAid, and IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, and supported by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.
A wide range of experts and practitioners, coming from 11 different countries in West Africa, presented papers on issues such as Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), ecological sanitation, school sanitation and hygiene promotion. The presentations were used as an appetizer for more in-depth discussion in smaller groups of maximum 12 participants. The symposium provided a platform both for Anglophone and Francophone participants to share good practices and explore new ways forward.
This symposium is one of the five learning and sharing events on sanitation and hygiene organised by IRC in 2009 and 2010.
Pakistan: Community Led Total Sanitation did not create demand for “improved sanitation”
A recent assessment of CLTS pilots in nine villages in Pakistan revealed that the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) had the potential to motivate communities to achieve open defecation free (ODF) status. However, it did not create demand for “improved sanitation”.
On-site sanitation: peer pressure builds more latrines than financial assistance in Orissa
Government subsidies persuade some people to change habits, but social shame works even better, suggests a recent ground breaking study of efforts to reduce elevated childhood death and disease rates blamed on the microbial pathogens that cause diarrhoea in rural India.
Follow-up workshops on sanitation and hygiene (2009-2010)
An important milestone has been reached by IRC's sanitation and hygiene group: the Big Five! A total of five key follow-up workshops on sanitation and hygiene have been planned for 2009-2010. In an overview you can find in which regions the workshops will take place and what the expected outputs are.
What's new here?
About IRC
Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better support poor men, women and children in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services they will use and maintain.
