Peru PM: Clean drinking water for a further 1 million people this year.
In Peru’s Prime Minister Fernando Zavala on Friday said a million inhabitants will gain access to drinking water by the end of the year, since water and sanitation sector investment has grown six-fold.
Remarks were made while analyzing Kuczynski’s first year running the country at the National Agreement session held at Lima’s Government Palace.
During the meeting, he announced the Government is spending nearly S/10 billion (about US$3.07 billion) on roads and that 12 projects —worth over US$3 billion— have been made viable in favor of the country.
The Cabinet chief’s speech addressed five major fields: rapid response to "Coastal El Niño," Lava Jato (Car Wash) scandal, Peruvian foreign-policy leadership in the region, fight against corruption, as well as Justice Agreement and its consequences for the judicial system.
Moreover, Zavala noted the Executive’s commitment to report to the population on the progress made.
He explained the Government is intended to build a modern nation and make it a fairer and more equitable place, where all Peruvians have the same rights as well as access to education, health, water and sanitation services.
The National Agreement session featured President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, First Vice-President Martin Vizcarra, Attorney General Pablo Sanchez and Supreme Judge Ramiro de Valdivia, who participated on behalf of the Judicial Branch.
Also attending the session were Ministers Marisol Perez Tello (Justice and Human Rights), Marilu Martens (Education) and Cayetana Aljovin (Development and Social Inclusion), among other authorities.
Published: 7/22/2017

2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home 4.5 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation 2.3 billion people do not have basic sanitation services 844 million people do not have even a basic drinking water service Too many people still lack access to safe drinking water and safely managed sanitation, particularly in rural areas.
Significant inequalities persist The report has found huge gaps in services between urban and rural areas with two out of three people with safely managed drinking water and three out of five people with safely managed sanitation services living in urban areas.
The situation is in sharp contrast to what the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at achieving: "reducing inequalities between and within countries", ending open defecation and ensuring universal access to basic services by 2030.
There are not only significant inequalities in basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and open defecation between regions and between countries within each region, but also within individual countries between urban and rural areas.
However, there is a 40 percentage point gap between urban and rural areas within the country.
In fact, poor sanitation and contaminated water are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid, which kill 361,000 children under five every year.
Touching upon the progress of Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, the report observed that this pan-India programme “recognizes the need to go beyond reporting infrastructure coverage, and is conducting population-based surveys to determine household use of sanitation facilities”.
While more than 205,000 villages, 149 districts and five States had reported themselves to be open-defecation free (ODF) as of June 2017, questions have been raised on the way this programme has been implemented.
While 76 per cent of people in western Asia and northern Africa have the access to water and soap, the percentage dips to 15 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Key findings in figures 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home 4.5 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation 2.3 billion people do not have basic sanitation services 844 million people do not have even a basic drinking water service 263 million people spend over 30 minutes per trip collecting water from sources outside the home 159 million people still drink untreated water from surface water sources like streams or lakes 90 countries have made very little progress towards basic sanitation and they are unlikely to achive universal coverage by 2030 892 million people—mostly in rural areas—defecate in the open "Safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home should not be a privilege of only those who are rich or live in urban centres," says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home 4.5 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation 2.3 billion people do not have basic sanitation services 844 million people do not have even a basic drinking water service Too many people still lack access to safe drinking water and safely managed sanitation, particularly in rural areas.
Significant inequalities persist The report has found huge gaps in services between urban and rural areas with two out of three people with safely managed drinking water and three out of five people with safely managed sanitation services living in urban areas.
The situation is in sharp contrast to what the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at achieving: "reducing inequalities between and within countries", ending open defecation and ensuring universal access to basic services by 2030.
There are not only significant inequalities in basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and open defecation between regions and between countries within each region, but also within individual countries between urban and rural areas.
However, there is a 40 percentage point gap between urban and rural areas within the country.
In fact, poor sanitation and contaminated water are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid, which kill 361,000 children under five every year.
Touching upon the progress of Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, the report observed that this pan-India programme “recognizes the need to go beyond reporting infrastructure coverage, and is conducting population-based surveys to determine household use of sanitation facilities”.
While more than 205,000 villages, 149 districts and five States had reported themselves to be open-defecation free (ODF) as of June 2017, questions have been raised on the way this programme has been implemented.
While 76 per cent of people in western Asia and northern Africa have the access to water and soap, the percentage dips to 15 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Key findings in figures 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home 4.5 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation 2.3 billion people do not have basic sanitation services 844 million people do not have even a basic drinking water service 263 million people spend over 30 minutes per trip collecting water from sources outside the home 159 million people still drink untreated water from surface water sources like streams or lakes 90 countries have made very little progress towards basic sanitation and they are unlikely to achive universal coverage by 2030 892 million people—mostly in rural areas—defecate in the open "Safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home should not be a privilege of only those who are rich or live in urban centres," says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a historic visit to Israel recently, the two countries put pen to paper on a bilateral memorandum of understanding on water conservation collaboration.
In India, polluted and dried-up rivers, poor storage infrastructure, contaminated groundwater and shrinking aquifers – to name but a handful of problems – have turned the country’s water woes into a hydra-headed monster.
With 76 million people – approximately 5% of the country’s total population – living without access to safe drinking water, many experts believe India faces a looming internal water war that will jeopardize all of its ambitious developmental projects, from “Make in India” to building smart cities.
Arjun Thapan, the current chairman of Unesco’s International Hydrological Program Advisory Board and also of the pan-Asian non-profit WaterLinks, says the World Economic Forum’s 2030 Water Resources Group first predicted, way back in 2010, that demand for water would exceed supply by 50% in India by 2030.
“The forecast was based on a study, made by McKinsey and others, of demand-supply variation across India’s major river basins and levels of efficiency in supply and consumption, relative to economic growth,” says Thapan, who chaired the WEF’s global council on water security at the time.
India has the world’s highest number of people without access to clean water, according to the international charity Water Aid.
As India’s leading policy research organization, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), estimates, a threefold rise in water requirements in the industrial sector by 2050 is likely to mean India will lose competitive advantage simply because of a lack of water.
“India is already in the throes of a very serious water crisis,” Thapan asserts, warning that the country’s industrial sector remains inefficient in its water use.
Will launching a conservation campaign and improving water governance be enough for India to tackle water scarcity or is there a need to enact radical statutes to manage available water resources more efficiently?
“India is so large, complicated and diverse that simple answers do not exist,” feels Uri Shani, a former director general of Israel’s Water Authority, who presided over a revolution in supplying, managing, reusing and pricing water in Israel.

The team of volunteers includes Kim Vincent and Will Prosper in Montréal, and Sophia LaaBabsi, Ibrahima Dabo, a member of the Barry family in Québec City, and Souleymane Bah, president of l’Association des Guinéens du Québec all based in Quebec City with personal ties to the victims and their families.
They are currently crowdfunding to raise enough funds to build two wells, one in Mamadou Barry’s village and another in the village of Ibrahima Barry, who also died in the Quebec mosque attack.
The team has crowdfunded over 16K of the 25K they hope to raise for the project which will need to begin before the end of the year inshallah (God willing).
Muslim Link interviewed tteam member Kim Vincent about the project.
She, and other members of the team, will be using their own funds to travel.
The attack on the Islamic Center that killed six men was a shocking violation for our society as a whole and a very painful one for me.
What has it been like working with such a diverse team based in Montreal, Quebec City, and Guinea?
Souleymane Bah was able to travel to Conakry over Ramadan; he met with contractors who will also be involved in the realization of the wells.
It was always our goal to be funded by the people of Quebec for the sake of the children of the victims.
Will Prosper spoke about the project at the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit in April and we garnered some support from English Canada as well as a result but we can be proud that the vast majority of support has come from average Quebecers who are still stunned by the tragic event.

They give it a D. It’s a brutal assessment, but it needs to be a wake-up call for policymakers.
Access to clean drinking water is not a rural problem or a big city problem, it is not a Republican or Democrat problem, it is a national emergency and we need to find solutions before it is too late.
It is one thing to see these terrible grades on paper, but what does this actually mean for people in their day-to-day lives?
Rogers resident Mike Frazee recently shared his story with the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife to give policymakers that real life insight.
I invited him to testify during a hearing to address problems with America’s water infrastructure system and possible funding and financing investment.
Whenever he sees someone hauling water for lack of access to a well or public water system, he stops them and tells them about the assistance options that are available.
Currently, an estimated 1.7 million Americans live without access to clean, running drinking water in their homes.
Our water infrastructure is a perfect place to start.
We have an Administration that has made infrastructure investment a top priority, coupled with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.
Developing an infrastructure bill that directly addresses America’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure challenges must be a priority that Congress adopts and brings to fruition.

They give it a D. It’s a brutal assessment, but it needs to be a wake-up call for policymakers.
Access to clean drinking water is not a rural problem or a big city problem, it is not a Republican or Democrat problem, it is a national emergency and we need to find solutions before it is too late.
It is one thing to see these terrible grades on paper, but what does this actually mean for people in their day-to-day lives?
Rogers resident Mike Frazee recently shared his story with the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife to give policymakers that real life insight.
I invited him to testify during a hearing to address problems with America’s water infrastructure system and possible funding and financing investment.
Whenever he sees someone hauling water for lack of access to a well or public water system, he stops them and tells them about the assistance options that are available.
Currently, an estimated 1.7 million Americans live without access to clean, running drinking water in their homes.
Our water infrastructure is a perfect place to start.
We have an Administration that has made infrastructure investment a top priority, coupled with bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.
Developing an infrastructure bill that directly addresses America’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure challenges must be a priority that Congress adopts and brings to fruition.

Preliminary tests of tap water at Carriage House apartment complex in Adrian identified high lead levels in some of the units.
That assistance has included the installation of water filters, providing residents with access to a public health nurse and doing blood tests for young children and pregnant or nursing women, Lenawee County Health Officer Martha Hall told the county board of health at its monthly meeting Wednesday.
Millennia informed the residents of the test results in late June and provided advice on how to flush the water lines to reduce the lead levels and when to use it for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Since then, Hall said, the county health department, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the city of Adrian and Millennia have been working collaboratively to identify the source of the lead, develop solutions for remediation and to minimize exposure to the apartment residents.
A public health nurse was present during the tap installations to answer questions, Hall said.
Pregnant women exposed to lead are at increased risk for pregnancy complications, including miscarriage, having a baby that is born too early or too small, or causing damage to the baby’s brain, kidneys and nervous system.
The apartments are on the city of Adrian’s water system, Hall said, and the city does regular testing of water quality throughout the distribution system that hasn’t shown any problems.
She said after the meeting there isn’t a concern that the water is too corrosive.
Hall said checking the pipes and plumbing fixtures in the apartments, which were built in 1974, is part of the investigation.
She said rules on removing lead from fixtures weren’t enacted until 2014.

There is no law that requires cities disinfect their water, Stringer said.
"We need to consider disinfecting," he said of Artesia’s water system.
Artesia does not have a disinfectant system.
Even if the city does submit two clean samples to NMED, processed in a state-licensed lab in Hobbs, Yurdin said the state will continue to monitor Artesia’s system more than before.
The discovery of E. coli triggered a required state assessment of the city water system within 30 days, Stringer said.
He said Artesia’s E. coli problem is a top priority for his division that oversee water systems as small as trailer parks or as large at the city of Albuquerque.
Artesia’s water has now been known to contain the potentially life-threatening bacteria for about six days since a boil water alert was put into effect on June 15.
The three positive samples were in areas subjected to chlorine flushing Tuesday night, read a news release from the City of Artesia.
Flushing of city water lines will continue through Thursday with the city turning on fire hydrants.
Officials hope that by flushing the lines, contaminated water will exit the system and clean water will be able to flow.

Senator Tammy Baldwin Helps Reverse Deep Budget Cuts to Rural Development.
Senator Baldwin then worked across party lines in the Senate Appropriations Committee and successfully fought to reverse these cuts and include strong investments for rural America in the FY2018 Agriculture Appropriations bill.
“Across Wisconsin, our rural communities have put these investments to work on small business job creation, rebuilding water infrastructure, and strengthening health care, education and public safety,” said Senator Baldwin.
This includes strong investments for clean drinking water and water infrastructure; job creation investments in rural small businesses; and health care, education, and public safety in rural Wisconsin.
Clean Water in Rural Wisconsin Last year alone, USDA Rural Development supported drinking water and wastewater systems in dozens of Wisconsin comminutes.
Jobs and Small Businesses in Rural Wisconsin In 2016, this funding invested over $28 million dollars in Wisconsin’s rural businesses.
Through nearly 90 different projects, USDA Rural Development helped start new businesses, create jobs, increase production and provide stability in our Made In Wisconsin rural manufacturing economy.
In Wisconsin, small rural businesses with less than 50 employees have been supported by these investments with targeted technical assistance and training to develop or expand their operations.
Health Care, Education and Public Safety in Rural Wisconsin USDA Rural Development also invests in Wisconsin’s telehealth and distance learning, which are critical for our rural communities.
Rural Wisconsin towns have also used investments to strengthen local community facilities to improve education, health care and public safety.