Haiti: first ever National Sustainable Sanitation Conference

Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) and UNICEF are organising Haiti’s first ever National Sustainable Sanitation Conference. It will be held in Port-au-Prince on 12-13 June 2012.

The conference aims to share information about innovative waste treatment technologies such as composting toilets and bio-systems, among NGOs and the Haitian government.

Agenda:

• Overview of National Sanitation Strategy presented by DINEPA’s Sanitation Office (DA)
• Presentations of lessons learned from previous projects and ongoing sustainable sanitation projects in Haiti
• Ateliers focused on different components of sustainable sanitation
• Stakeholder feedback
• Open forum to discuss National Standards for Composting Toilets and Biogas
• Production of a public document summarizing the findings of the conference

SOIL, US-registered non profit, has been promoting ecological sanitation solutions in Haiti since 2006.

For the full announcement and more information go to: www.oursoil.org/national-sustainable-sanitation-conference

Haiti: lack of proper sanitation is real cause of cholera outbreak, Clinton says

Woman at Leogane camp saying the latrines behind her are full and smell foul. Photo credit: Haiti Grassroots Watch

Haiti should focus on stemming the cholera outbreak that has killed more than 7,000 people since 2010, rather than on levying blame against the source of the disease, UN special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, said. While studies have suggested that the cholera came from a Nepalese soldier serving as a peacekeeper, Clinton pointed out that the country’s lack of proper sanitation was the real cause of the outbreak. [1]

In November 2011, the Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) filed a demand for hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from Haitian cholera victims. [2]

Money to empty refugee camp toilets has run out

Clinton’s own foundation, together with UNICEF and USAID, supplied some 11,000 mobile toilets for the refugee camps that emerged after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The NGOs that distributed the toilets and paid for them to be emptied are now pulling out one by one, leaving overflowing toilets behind, according to an IPS report. [3]

Donor funds are being used to set up excreta treatment centres, one is now in operation in Morne-à-Cabri while a second centre is planned for Titanye, but these are not servicing the remaining refugee camps, home to nearly half a million people.

Related news:

• Haiti: study suggests UN force source of cholera strain that killed 5,500 people, E-Source, 15 Jul 2011
• Humanitarian crises and sustainable sanitation: lessons from Eastern Chad, Sanitation Updates, 16 Mar 2012

Related web sites:

• Practical Action – Water & Sanitation Resources for Recovery and Reconstruction
• Haiti Reconstruction Fund
• WHO – Cholera

Sources:

• [1] AP, Former President Clinton urges officials to stem Haiti cholera outbreak, Washington Post, 07 Mar 2012
• [2] Haiti: cholera victims demand UN compensation, Sanitation Updates, 09 Nov 2011
• [3] Phares Jerome and Valery Daudier, Money for cleaning toilets in Haiti down the drain? – Part 1, IPS, 07 Mar 2012

Brazilian State will pay the sewer connection for low-income families

The state government of Sao Paulo, Brazil, will pay sewer connection for families with income of up to three minimum wages. It is estimated that 192 000 connections will be paid, benefiting about 800 000 people. Will be invested R $ 349.5 million over eight years.

The program will pay for the works within the property, such as labor and material, to make the connection.The goal is to encourage low-income families to connect their homes to the sewer system, because when there is no domestic connection to sewage they pour in fresh water bodies causing damage to the environment and health of the population.

The program is coordinated by the Secretary of Sanitation and Water Resources of the State, Edson Giriboni.

Post sent by SSRH press office
Guilherme Hungria

Haiti: cholera victims demand UN compensation

The United Nations has been hit with a demand for hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from Haitian cholera victims.

The Boston, USA-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) filed the demand on behalf of some 5,000 victims.

IJDH is demanding US$ 50,000 in compensation for each sick person and US$ 100,000  for each death. In addition, it wants a public apology and an adequate nationwide response – including medical care and clean water and sanitation infrastructure.

Colombia: Indigenous WAYUU women fight for fresh water

This documentary looks at one of Colombia’s largest indigenous groups, Wayuu, and their struggle for fresh water. Soon their water will be siphoned from their lands through new pipes to a nearby town, where the population is not indigenous. Due to a changing climate, water has become even scarcer in their community. One extraordinary woman fights for her community’s very survival.

Born Latin American Confederation for Community Organization in Water and Sanitation

As part of the Latin American Management II Community Water and Sanitation, held from 13 to 15 September in Cusco, Peru with the presence of representatives of community associations in 14 countries in Latin America, including members of FANMex Environmental Studies Group BC and Keepers of the Volcanoes and after a year of discussions from the meeting in Samaipata, the Latin American Confederation of Community Organizations for Water and Sanitation Services (OCSAS) was born.

Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation launches new web site

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID, has launched a new website (in Spanish only) for its Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation, a financing instrument that supports water and sanitation initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Launched on 7 June 2011, it provides detailed information about the fund and is set to host a list of upcoming tenders carried out by Spain’s partner organisations and countries. The website also contains eligibility criteria and application instructions.

The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation began operating in 2008 with a US$ 1.5 billion budget. The launch of the website is line with the Spanish government’s commitment to make the fund’s operation more transparent, AECID explains in a news release.

Web site: www.fondodelagua.aecid.es

Source: Ivy Mungcal, Devex.com, 08 Jun 2011