Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene August 2018 | Page 13

participants from governments, multilateral, bilateral and
academic institutions, philanthropic foundations and
the private sector came together to identify barriers, test
the concept and develop a vision for the African Water
Revolution initiative.
During the keynote address, Mr. Jean Claude Kayisinga,
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal
Resources of the Republic of Rwanda stated that the
Government of Rwanda is committed to joining other
African countries in establishing a mandate for the African
Water Revolution. He highlighted the importance of
the workshop saying “the mission of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Animal Resources is to initiate, develop
and manage suitable programs of transformation and
modernization of agriculture and livestock to ensure food
security and to contribute to the national economy. This
mission cannot be achieved unless about 70% of Rwandan
farmers engaged in rain-fed subsistence farming switch to
green water use, which is already known as proven solution
to fight hunger.”
Discussions during the workshop focused on how to
scale up green water technologies, options for financing
the African Green Water Revolution including a potential
green water fund and how best to garner the support
of African leaders and the donor community for this
important initiative. The workshop was the first in a series
of related events throughout 2018.
Stockholm Water Prize
Biotech pioneers, Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht, win 2018
Stockholm Water Prize.
Professors Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht
are named the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize Laureates for
revolutionizing water and wastewater treatment.
By revolutionizing microbiological-based technologies
in water and wastewater treatment, Professors Mark van
Loosdrecht and Bruce Rittmann have demonstrated
the possibilities to remove harmful contaminants from
water, cut wastewater treatment costs, reduce energy
consumption, and even recover chemicals and nutrients for
recycling.
Their pioneering research and innovations have led to
a new generation of energy-efficient water treatment
processes that can effectively extract nutrients and other
chemicals – both valuable and harmful – from wastewater.
Mark van Loosdrecht is Professor in Environmental
Biotechnology at Delft University of Technology, The
Netherlands. Bruce Rittmann is Regents’ Professor of
Environmental Engineering and Director of the Biodesign
Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the
Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, USA.
On receiving news of the prize, Professor van Loosdrecht
said: “I’m very excited and pleased! This is recognition not
just of our work but of the contributions microbiological
engineering can make to the water sector”.
World Water Day 2019: Leaving no one
behind
When the 2030
Agenda was adopted
in 2015, all countries
and stakeholders set
out an ambitious
agenda envisaging
a world free of
poverty, hunger,
disease and want. A
world where all life can thrive and where no one is left
behind. At a time of immense global challenges – poverty,
inequalities, natural disasters, humanitarian crises and
forced displacement, the 2019 edition of World Water Day
looks at why people have been left behind and how access
to water and sanitation and sustainable water management
can be drivers of change.
In this session, participants will get an opportunity to learn
more about what it means to leave no one behind and
identify ways to be actively involved.
The 2019 World Water Day campaign is coordinated by
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on
behalf of UN-Water.
Closing plenary - Friday 31 August
The closing plenary will summarize and conclude the
multi-faceted outcomes of World Water Week 2018. The
plenary covers reflections and take-home messages of
keynote speakers and Key Collaborating Partners, and the
rapporteur team, together with the Scientific Programme
Committee, will present their main findings from the Week
The closing plenary will also look ahead and identify
challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us. It will
link up with the theme of World Water Week 2019, which
puts society and inclusiveness at the core.
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