PSI joins USAID, UNICEF, WHO and others hosted a seminar on improving water quality to kick off World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. World Water Week took place September 5 through 11, and this year’s theme was “The Water Quality Challenge \u2013 Prevention, Wise Use and Abatement.”<\/p>\n
Sunday – September 5, 2010 14:00-18:30 Room: T6<\/em><\/p>\n Convenors:<\/strong> United States Agency for International Development, WHO Network for Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage, UNICEF, Population Services International, PATH, ABT Associates, and US Centers for Disease Control.<\/p>\n Seminar Overview:<\/strong> Providing safe, reliable, piped-in water to every household is an important goal that yields optimal health gains, while also contributing to Millennium Development Goal targets. However, these investments in water supply infrastructure are expensive and implemented in a longer timeframe. Meanwhile, simple and inexpensive techniques exist for treating drinking water in the home and storing it in safe containers. These household water treatment and safe storage interventions (HWTS) can be implemented rapidly, with typical reductions of diarrhea from 30-50%.<\/p>\n Data from WHO\u2019s report on costs vs. impact of various water and sanitation program strategies (Hutton, 2004) shows that combining HWTS with universal coverage of basic, Millennium Development Goal-standard water and sanitation infrastructure will result in a large public health benefit to those most at risk, with only small incremental increase in cost.<\/p>\n The keynote speaker framed the issues around increasing access to water supply, water quality, and household water treatment options. Three presenters from developing countries, representing both Ministries of Infrastructure and Health, shared their perspectives and experiences with integration and the potential to complement water supply with HWTS. This was followed by roundtable discussions on key topics related to water supply and HWTS and a reception.<\/p>\n