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ECSP Weekly Watch | July 22 – 26
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Worsening Health Conditions in War-Torn Gaza (BBC)
Water infrastructure in Gaza was already weak before the beginning of the war in 2023, but intensified conflict and siege of critical infrastructure the damage wreaked by Israel’s military forces on critical infrastructure (including water, energy, and food), has left 70% of the people in Gaza exposed to salinated and contaminated water. Traces of polio have been found in wastewater flowing both between displacement camp tents and in inhabited areas, and experts suggest that this water might be circulating.
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Reusable Food Packaging in US and China: Closing the Loop on Plastics in Closed Environments
›During the World Wildlife Fund’s Plastic Policy Summit in March in Washington D.C., I grabbed coffee in a white ceramic mug provided by the convention venue. Reusable mugs seemed unusual amid today’s prevalence of single-use cups, prompting me to reflect on how we have normalized single-use: I bought yogurt and soda in returnable bottles in Beijing; generations before us grew up with reuse. Why did we move away from it?
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New Global Health & Gender Policy Brief: Climate Change and Maternal and Newborn Health Outcomes
›The growing climate crisis presents one of the largest public health threats of the century. However, its countless impacts on maternal and newborn health outcomes (as well as health disparities worldwide) have only recently gained global attention.
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Shaken to The Core: The Plight of Syrian Refugees After February’s Earthquake
›Madiha vaguely remembers her family fleeing war-torn Syria. But even a decade later, she still bursts into tears describing their midnight escape across the border to Turkey. She and her family were forced to flee after losing family members in a civil war in which they had no stake.
Little did Madiha—who is now 11 years old—and her family know they would experience another monumental trauma a decade later. This time, it was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked large swaths of southern Turkey on early February 6, 2023.
The roof they built with their own hands collapsed over their heads, killing several of Madiha’s nieces and siblings. “A large piece of brick fell on my mother’s leg, but she luckily survived,” she said tearfully.
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Water and Conflict: Updates from the Russia-Ukraine War
›The first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also a reminder of the long-term challenges faced by that embattled country, including one of the most important resources for human survival: water.
“For Ukrainians, water has been under fire for nearly a decade,” observed Erika Weinthal, Professor of Environmental Policy and Public Policy at Duke University, at a recent Water @ Wilson Series event: “Water and Conflict: Updates from the Russia-Ukraine War,” co-hosted by the U.S. Water Partnership.
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Achieving SDG 6.2: Adequate and Equitable Sanitation and Hygiene for Who?
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50 Years and Billions Spent: Achieving Universal Access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Within Reach
›“Reporting on the progress made, the challenges that remain, and impact of COVID-19 on the WASH sector is crucial,” said Ambassador Mark Green, President, Director, and CEO of the Wilson Center and former USAID Administrator, during his opening remarks at a recent event hosted by the Wilson Center and Circle of Blue to discuss the WASH Within Reach project.
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Innovation in Financing Brightens WASH Galaxy: Funding for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Starts to Arrive Faster, With Clearer Requirements
›People devoted to financing water, sanitation and hygiene in developing nations worried for much of 2020. Utility customers stopped paying their water bills. Funders altered their priorities. Heads of state turned their attention to other virus-related emergencies.
But did COVID-19 affect funding enough to slow progress toward universal access to clean water, safe sanitation, and hygiene? And if it did, by how much?
Showing posts from category sanitation.