Welcome to the March 2010 edition of ‘REEDS NEWS’.

The Millennium Goals recognize that environmental sustainability is part of global economic and social well-being. Among those is Millennium Development target 10 (Goal 7) is to cut in half, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

WHO finds that four out of every ten people in the world do not have access to even a simple pit latrine; and nearly two in ten have no source of safe drinking water and this silent humanitarian crisis kills some 3,900 children every day thwarting the progress toward all the Millennium Development Goals.

Meeting the sanitation target, that require as per the latest report of the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, an additional 1 billion people in cities and 900 million people in rural areas gain access to basic sanitation services globally, is a huge challenge.

While globally required efforts are being made for expanding both water supply and sanitation services to meet the Target, it is pity to note, in practice, sanitation and hygiene receive substantially less attention, funding, and priority than water supply in virtually every country around the world!

Expanding sanitation in a meaningful way and achieve this important MDG requires mobilization and motivation of community members toward individual and collective action. Innovative strategies are needed that build on community trust and solidarity and that capitalize on basic human emotions of pride and dignity as well as other social dynamics.

Don’t you think that development of abilities and skills focused on local circumstances and challenges that would enable relevant stakeholders to improve their capacity to achieve the Millennium Development Goals is critical and need of the hour?

Ravi K Reddy, April 13, 2010

The momentum on the International Conference on Life skills & Livelihood skills - Challenges for Institutional Development taking pace. More distinguished dignitaries joined the Advisory Committee since the last communication. Prestigious organizations such as APITCO and JNTU, Hyderabad has consented to associate with the event. Please do visit www.skills2010.org for updates. We would look forward for your valuable inputs, support and goodwill for making the conference a successful and productive event.

World Water Day

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Since then, International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

This year World Water Day is dedicated to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management.
Source: unwater.org

REEDS welcome support and participation in any manner that suit one’s convenience. All the monitory contributions to REEDS qualify for deduction under section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961.

We would like to acknowledge our sincere thanks to Dr. SK Hajela, Member Advisory Council, who had extended financial support to REEDS in the month March 2010.

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