HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

In 1965, the government of St. Lucia and the Rockefeller Foundation undertook what became a sixteen-year project to determine the optimal strategy for controlling locally-endemic schistosomiasis mansoni. Many of the world’s leading researchers on schistosomiasis control participated in the project, including experts in epidemiology, snail ecology, water and sanitation, social mobilization, clinical trials, immunology, and health economics. In the process, they brought infection levels in the new island nation to an impressive and steady low. Now fifty years later, the island has maintained its control of the parasite and may be on the cusp of achieving national Schistosoma mansoni elimination status. 

eThekwini Water & Sanitation, a part of Durban Municipality in South Africa, has been named the 2014 winner of the Stockholm Industry Water Award, for its transformative and inclusive approach to providing water and sanitation services. 

This article focuses on the background of the problem, what it means for nearly half the people of the developing world who lack adequate sanitation and hygiene. Today, an estimated 2.4 to 2.6 billion individuals lack access to any type of improved sanitation facility according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) half of the developing world, more than 35 % of the world’s population lack access to adequate sanitation. And, poor sanitation and hygiene are inextricably linked to water quality.

Over 2500 politicians, business leaders, and representatives of 200 international organizations are meeting at the World Water Week in Stockholm, August 26-31 2012, where they are working to share knowledge of solutions and to forge new solutions to meet rapidly escalating demands for limited water and land from all sectors of the economy.