Find out about what IRC is doing and what is going on in the world of water, sanitation and hygiene. Use the filters to narrow down your search.
Contamination of deep groundwater with arsenic from shallower sources may not be as serious as feared — if pumping deep water is limited to domestic use, a study has found. Exposure to arsenic-contaminated groundwater has been linked to almost one in every five deaths in Bangladesh , and some 100,... Read more...
Accelerated and sustainable progress in sanitation and hygiene is within reach in Asia, as long as we aim at district-wide coverage and build a broad alliance under leadership of local governments. This is the main conclusion of sanitation and hygiene experts from five countries (Nepal, Bhutan,... Read more...
Kathmandu (MPPW/SNV/IRC): Accelerated and sustainable progress in sanitation and hygiene is within reach in Asia, as long as we aim at district-wide coverage and build a broad alliance under leadership of local governments. This is the main conclusion of sanitation and hygiene experts from five... Read more...
This new 9 minute video shows how BRAC is addressing high absenteeism rates among female students through a water, sanitation and hygiene programme in nearly 3,000 schools across rural Bangladesh. The programme includes menstrual hygiene facilties. [Female students] have expressed that something so... Read more...
When three small towns in the state of Karnataka, India attempted to provide continuous water supply to their citizens through a public-private partnership, they faced disbelief even ridicule. A sustained and strategic communication campaign over several years finally enabled the Karnataka Urban... Read more...
The government's subsidy policy for sanitation needs to be more effective and more money should be allocated if Bangladesh is to meet is target of sanitation for all' by 2013, experts say. This is the conclusion of a study conducted among 21,121 households by the Human Development Research Centre... Read more...
A drought in southwest China has left over two million people short of drinking water, the government said. Guizhou province has been under the grip of a drought since early July 2011. Rainfall last month was 70 percent less than average, according to new agency Xinhua. The drought has affected... Read more...
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has taken steps to nab water pirates in Colombo and the suburbs, an official said. "We have established a special unit to nab water pirates. It is headed by a chief engineer in the NWSDB," Deputy General Manager, Western and Central (NWSDB),... Read more...
This webinar presentation is based on findings from a Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) study of 50 local governments that were declared 100% sanitized/open defecation free almost five years ago. Researchers found that almost 90 percent of households in the areas studied have sustained use of a... Read more...
Amraiwadi, a crime-prone slum area of Ahmedabad, is set for a makeover as nearly 1200 families will get one-bedroom flat with good drainage, separate toilets, a drinking water supply, a landscaped garden and a school. This is the first project to be approved by the state Urban Development... Read more...
The government is planning to regulate over-extraction of groundwater in agriculture and industry which is seriously affecting drinking water supply in rural India, new Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said. "80 per cent of drinking water supply schemes of rural India are depending on... Read more...
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="214" caption="Jairam Ramesh. India's new sanitation crusader?"] [/caption] India's new rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has also taken charge of the newly-created Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Will the former environmental crusader... Read more...
Villagers in Salkot, western Surkhet, have to produce a "sanitation card" when applying for services from the Village Development Committee (VDC). The "sanitation card" system was introduced in Salkot in mid April 2011 when it was declared an open defecation free zone. The card contains information... Read more...
As part of the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2011-2013 for Cambodia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning a US$ 27 million loan and a US$ 800,000 technical assistance grant for the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation III project. Source : ADB Country Operations Business Plan :... Read more...
Ms. Nanu Maiya Giri, principal of Chuna Devi Lower Secondary School appreciates the effort of her community people proudly. She claims that it’s their dedication that turned the catchment area of school into a total sanitation zone. According to her, after prolonged dedication the Magar tole, Danda... Read more...
Report from second review meeting on sustainable WASH. Read more...
In 2010, there were two important regional meetings held resulting in consensus from stakeholders and two joint commitments; the Nepalgunj Commitment and the Surkhet Declaration. The meetings tried to address improved coordination, harmonisation and local resource mobilisation (allocation of 10% to... Read more...
A US bottled water exporter that had enjoyed a de facto tax free status in the Pacific island nation of Fiji since 1995, has finally been forced to pay up. Once dubbed as "bottled insanity" by environmentalists, FIJI Water has been linked to tax evasion, political intrigue, and greenwashing. Water... Read more...
The finance minister's claim that 90.6 percent families in Bangladesh are using sanitary latrines has been dismissed by experts. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report 2010) data shows the sanitary latrine coverage in Bangladesh is only 51.5 per cent (which is... Read more...
Two separate pollution incidents have hit the drinking water supply of the Chinese city of Hangzhou (pop. 9 million), Zhejiang Province, in the beginning of June 2011. In the first incident, the drinking water supply of more than half a million people was cut off when phenol (carbolic acid) spilled... Read more...