AsianScientist (Aug. 29, 2017) – Techbridge Ventures, a subsidiary of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has entered a collaboration with PC Partner, one of Hong Kong’s leading electronics manufacturers, to establish a new corporate incubator called InnoPartner Private Limited.
NTU is a leading global player in sustainability research and cleantech solutions.
The partnership between the two comes as Asia prepares to meet strong demand for cleantech products and services that can reduce pollution and conserve energy.
According to the Asian Development Bank Outlook 2016 report, Asia is home to 4.4 billion people.
The region therefore offers significant opportunity for companies that provide solutions to these environmental pressures.
Based at NTU Singapore, InnoPartner will identify, develop and commercialize promising technologies by tapping on the extensive intellectual property (IP) portfolio of Techbridge Ventures’ partners.
Also present at the signing ceremony were Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Mr. Ma Xingrui, Governor of Guangdong, who both co-chair the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council.
“The joint venture will sharpen PC Partner’s competitive edge with access to innovative technologies and introduce PC Partner’s development expertise to Singapore.
This will not only boost the growth of Singapore’s dynamic cleantech sector, but also create new jobs and bring other economic benefits,” said Lim.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

In crisis-torn countries, children’s access to safe water and sanitation is a right, not a privilege – UNICEF.
“Children’s access to safe water and sanitation, especially in conflicts and emergencies, is a right, not a privilege” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s global chief of water, sanitation and hygiene, who warned, as World Water Week gets underway, that more than 180 million people in crisis-torn countries have no access to drinking water.
UNICEF said that in Yemen, a country reeling from the impact of over two years of conflict, water supply networks that serve the country’s largest cities are at imminent risk of collapse due to war-inflicted damage and disrepair.
Around 15 million people in the country have been cut off from regular access to water and sanitation.
As for Syria, where the conflict is well into its seventh year, around 15 million people are in need of safe water, including an estimated 6.4 million children.
“In far too many cases, water and sanitation systems have been attacked, damaged or left in disrepair to the point of collapse.
When children have no safe water to drink, and when health systems are left in ruins, malnutrition and potentially fatal diseases like cholera will inevitably follow,” said Mr. Wijesekera.
Somalia is suffering from the largest outbreak of cholera in the last five years, with nearly 77,000 cases of suspected cholera/acute watery diarrhoea.
And in South Sudan, the cholera outbreak is the most severe the country has ever experienced, with more than 19,000 cases since June 2016, said UNICEF.
In famine-threatened north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, nearly 30 million people, including 14.6 million children, are in urgent need of safe water.

Cholera prevention: “Let’s all drink clean water”.
A lack of access to drinking water and poor storage of the same, as well as ignorance about good hygiene practices, are the main causes of this illness which even today can kill.
A campaign was organised from 1st – 30th April 2017 by the Katanga water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cluster, with a view to preventing the spread of cholera in Haut-Katanga province in 2017.
Thanks to this campaign, more than 70,000 people from the town of Lubumbashi and the surrounding area were made aware of the importance of consuming drinking or treated water.
The decision was made on the eve of the celebration of World Water Day on the 22nd March 2017, to run this large-scale campaign in order to raise awareness amongst the populations of the Kampemba and Mumbunda health zones – the areas worst affected by the cholera epidemic during 2016 – of the risks posed by consuming non-drinkable water.
This initiative was realised with contributions from every member of the WASH cluster: with a subscription of 50 American dollars (USD) per member and the support of certain water treatment companies in Lubumbashi, more than 5000 USD was collected.
Besides raising awareness about hygiene measures, the campaign also introduced the benefits of chlorination.
Sonyi, a representative of ADAM – a local NGO which is a member of the WASH cluster – hopes that the community will continue to put into practice for as long as possible the knowledge that has been shared.
We crossed paths with Perpétue Mahanda after a full morning of work, data collection sheet in hand, reporting to her supervisors in Munua health centre.
The ultimate goal of UNICEF’s work in the WASH sector is to ensure that all children can benefit from the realisation of this right, and that no child should fall by the wayside.

Cholera prevention: “Let’s all drink clean water”.
A lack of access to drinking water and poor storage of the same, as well as ignorance about good hygiene practices, are the main causes of this illness which even today can kill.
A campaign was organised from 1st – 30th April 2017 by the Katanga water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cluster, with a view to preventing the spread of cholera in Haut-Katanga province in 2017.
Thanks to this campaign, more than 70,000 people from the town of Lubumbashi and the surrounding area were made aware of the importance of consuming drinking or treated water.
The decision was made on the eve of the celebration of World Water Day on the 22nd March 2017, to run this large-scale campaign in order to raise awareness amongst the populations of the Kampemba and Mumbunda health zones – the areas worst affected by the cholera epidemic during 2016 – of the risks posed by consuming non-drinkable water.
This initiative was realised with contributions from every member of the WASH cluster: with a subscription of 50 American dollars (USD) per member and the support of certain water treatment companies in Lubumbashi, more than 5000 USD was collected.
Besides raising awareness about hygiene measures, the campaign also introduced the benefits of chlorination.
Sonyi, a representative of ADAM – a local NGO which is a member of the WASH cluster – hopes that the community will continue to put into practice for as long as possible the knowledge that has been shared.
We crossed paths with Perpétue Mahanda after a full morning of work, data collection sheet in hand, reporting to her supervisors in Munua health centre.
The ultimate goal of UNICEF’s work in the WASH sector is to ensure that all children can benefit from the realisation of this right, and that no child should fall by the wayside.

Over 180 million people in conflict-affected countries lack safe water.
More than 180 million people in countries affected by conflict and instability do not have access to safe water, the United Nations Children’s Fund reported on Tuesday.
"In countries beset by violence, displacement, conflict and instability, children’s most basic means of survival – water – must be a priority," said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s global chief of water, sanitation and hygiene.
In a statement released to mark World Water Week, held this year from Aug. 27 to Sep. 1, Wijesekera asserted that "children’s access to safe water and sanitation, especially in conflicts and emergencies, is a right, not a privilege".
A recent UNICEF analysis, conducted with the World Health Organization (WHO), found that in 2015, out of some 484 million people living in fragile situations, 183 million lacked basic drinking water services.
The organization highlighted the situation in Syria, where after 7 years of conflict 15 million people, of whom 6.4 million are minors, are in need of safe water, adding that this basic need has frequently been used as a weapon of war.
"In 2016 alone, there were at least 30 deliberate water cuts – including in Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Raqqa and Dara, with pumps destroyed and water sources contaminated," the UNICEF statement said.
It also underscored the case of northeastern Nigeria, where conflicts have damaged or destroyed 75 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure, leaving 3.6 million people without basic water services, leading to malnutrition and diseases.
"When children have no safe water to drink, and when health systems are left in ruins, malnutrition and potentially fatal diseases like cholera will inevitably follow," Wijesekera said.
In Yemen, more than 53 percent of the 500,000 cases of suspected cholera and acute watery diarrhea have been recorded in children so far.

American Water Charitable Foundation Awards $3M To Communities Throughout The United States.
Since 2012, the American Water Charitable Foundation has donated to worthy causes and organizations in communities served by American Water The American Water Charitable Foundation (AWCF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created by American Water, the nation’s largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility company, is celebrating five years of partnering with local communities and organizations throughout the country.
The Foundation has provided more than $3M in funding through grants and matching gifts since 2012.
That’s why we are committed to not only delivering the highest quality water and wastewater service possible but also participating and investing in programs that benefit these communities through the American Water Charitable Foundation.” In 2012, American Water established the American Water Charitable Foundation, with the primary goals to support employees in their charitable endeavors, provide support for disaster relief efforts, and provide funding for initiatives related to clean water, conservation, education, and community sustainability.
It is focused on parks, as they are critical to preserving natural resources that have real economic benefits for communities.
The Foundation also provided a $175,000 grant to fund an innovative program with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) that brings union members and American Water employees together to volunteer their time and skills on water-related conservation projects.
This program pairs the USA’s all-volunteer Work Boots on the Ground program with projects that benefit American Water service communities by improving public access to water-based recreational opportunities or enhancing the environmental sustainability of existing recreational areas.
“Since its establishment, the Foundation has always strived to help the communities we serve become stronger through these unique partnerships,” said Laura Martin, president of the American Water Charitable Foundation.
About the American Water Charitable Foundation The American Water Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides a formal way to demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to being a good neighbor, citizen, and contributor to the communities where American Water and its employees live, work and operate.
For more information, visit www.amwater.com.

Women leaders wangle water taps, security in India’s slums.
AHMEDABAD, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Hansaben Rasid knows what it is like to live without a water tap or a toilet of her own, constantly fearful of being evicted by city officials keen on tearing down illegal settlements like hers in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Jadibanagar, with 108 homes, is one of more than 50 slums in Ahmedabad which have been upgraded by Parivartan – meaning "change" – a program that involves city officials, slum dwellers, a developer and a non-profit organization.
Instead, they favor upgrading of their slums or redevelopment.
Homes in Jadibanagar slum, where a woman community leader trained by a local non-profit has overseen the upgrade of the settlement with water taps, toilets and paved lanes, and with a guarantee of no evictions for 10 years in Ahmedabad, India.
Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rina Chandran Earlier this month, officials in the eastern state of Odisha said they will give land rights to slum dwellers in small towns and property rights to those in city settlements in a "historic" step that will benefit tens of thousands.
"These homes are all illegal, but that doesn’t mean the people cannot live decently," said Bhonsale.
But with an upgrade, the women make the decision very quickly by themselves," she said.
Homes in Jadibanagar slum, where a woman community leader trained by a local non-profit has overseen the upgrade of the settlement with water taps, toilets and paved lanes, and with a guarantee of no evictions for 10 years in Ahmedabad, India.
Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rina Chandran Elsewhere, in Delhi’s Savda Ghevra slum resettlement colony where about 30,000 people live, non-profit Marg taught women residents to demand their legal right to water, sanitation and transport.

A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection board unexpectedly voted Tuesday morning to order a review of PFOA in drinking water, after being petitioned by the Bristol Borough-based environmental nonprofit Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
“There seemed to be a lot of interest in this … they had obviously read the petition and had taken on looking at the issue in a serious way,” Carluccio said.
In an email earlier this month, DEP press secretary Neil Shader said that once the board votes to accept such a petition, DEP staff must study the chemical in question and make a formal recommendation to the board about whether a regulation should be set, and if so, the level of the chemical.
If approved, every water authority in the state would be required to test for the chemical and install filtration systems if it’s found above the safe limit.
Typically, states that set their own drinking water standards employ staff such as toxicologists to study chemicals and provide scientific justifications for safe limits.
The DEP has no such staff, so it typically relies on national standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
A similar model exists in New Jersey, where the state’s Drinking Water Quality Institute uses an advisory board to study chemicals and make recommendations for safe drinking water standards.
The Riverkeeper Network petition to Pennsylvania calls for an even lower level — a maximum of just 6 ppt.
“We’re paying for it one way or another.” In a email earlier this month, DEP’s Shader said there is no time limit on when the agency will make a recommendation on PFOA to the Environmental Quality Board.
However, Carluccio said the DEP staff said Tuesday the agency aims to make a recommendation by June 2018.

On 9 August, the UN Security Council called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to allow ‘unfettered and sustained access’ to humanitarian aid.
An estimated 5000 people a day are being infected as this waterborne disease rages across the country.
Yemen is in the grip of one of the world’s worst ever cholera epidemics because its health system is collapsing with more than half of all health facilities closed because of damage, destruction or lack of funds.
Much of the destruction of the health services, facilities and sanitation infrastructure is a result of the indiscriminate bombing strikes by the Saudi-led coalition forces that support the Hadi government.
It’s also easily preventable, simply by washing your hands with clean water and eating food that has been boiled or cooked.
ICRC President Peter Maurer issued a statement after a visit at the end of July that made clear his view this outbreak is manmade.
He said the parties to conflict had to stop the attacks on hospitals, and electricity and water plants.
At the Yemen emergency donors conference in Geneva in April, the international community pledged US$1.1 billion.
This was half the amount that the UN estimated was needed to avert the humanitarian catastrophe.
So far the supporters of the Saudi-led coalition that has wrought so much destruction on Yemen and thus contributed to this cholera scandal are the same countries that have been the most generous in their aid pledges.

Tom Steyer, the San Francisco billionaire and environmentalist, promised his support Tuesday for a proposed safe and affordable drinking water fund to help communities with contaminated water in the San Joaquin Valley.
“It’s unjust for a million Californians to be exposed to unsafe water on a daily basis,” Steyer said.
According to the state, 36 public water systems serving more than 35,000 people in Fresno County are currently out of compliance for a range of contaminants, including arsenic and nitrates.
And of 306 communities across California that are out of compliance with primary safe drinking water standards, 154 are in the eight counties of the Valley.
The 154 water systems serve 218,000 people.
Lucy Hernandez, representing Agua Coalition y West Goshen, told Steyer: “In our community, we had three days and three nights without water because our well collapsed; and it was like the worst days of our lives.” In our community, we had three days and three nights without water because our well collapsed; and it was like the worst days of our lives.
During a news conference Tuesday, Steyer said in 2012 California declared that clean drinking water is a human right, but the state has not lived up to that pledge.
Clean drinking water is a justice issue, he said.
“People absolutely have a right to clean, safe drinking water.” Fresno has gained Steyer’s attention before.
And that’s why I say, as strange as it is, I think this is a very good time to be making that argument and to be making this fight for clean water for everybody.” As for his own political ambitions, Steyer has been rumored to have an eye on the governor’s race, but on Tuesday he laughed off a question about a run for the top state office.