Global Waters Radio

Christian Holmes is Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, and the Agency’s first-ever Global Water Coordinator. In his capacity as Global Water Coordinator, Holmes has been responsible for overseeing the Agency’s water programming portfolio since 2011. As he departs from the Agency in January 2017, Holmes sat down with Global Waters Radio to reflect on his tenure, discuss USAID’s recent water and sanitation accomplishments, and share lessons learned. Holmes reports USAID has made impressive strides with regard to the programming goals outlined in the Agency’s current Water and Development Strategy. Already, USAID has helped provide 6.8 million people with access to clean water and 3.2 million people with improved water management for food security to date. To ensure the sustainability of these gains, Holmes tells Global Waters Radio “ultimately it is the individual who receives the service that plays the greatest role in all of this, because it’s the individual that understands what they need, and understands how to utilize service.” This podcast was originally published in January 2017. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Christian Holmes Transcript To listen to the podcast, click below.

Cheryl Hicks is executive director of the Toilet Board Coalition, a public-private partnership that uses market-based solutions to deliver sustainable sanitation improvements, at scale, in communities around the world. In honor of World Toilet Day (November 19), Hicks speaks with Global Waters Radio about the Coalition’s recently launched multi-year partnership with USAID, and the Coalition’s ongoing efforts to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals’ target of providing universal access to improved sanitation by 2030. This podcast was originally published in November 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Cheryl Hicks Transcript For more information on the research or organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * Toilet Board Coalition * World Toilet Day To listen to the podcast, click below.

Natasha Wright is a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Global Engineering and Research Lab. In 2015, her team — a collaborative effort between MIT and Jain Irrigation Systems —won first place in the Desal Prize competition, an initiative of the Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge for Development which is funded by USAID alongside Sweden (through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the South African Department of Science and Technology. In this interview with Global Waters Radio, Wright shares insights about her team’s prize-winning electrodiaylsis reversal (EDR) technology, which uses solar power to produce desalinated water for small-scale farmers and communities disconnected from irrigation and water-supply networks. This podcast was originally published in October 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Natasha Wright Transcript For more information on the research discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * MIT Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab * Jain Irrigation Systems (USA) / Jain Irrigation Systems (India) To listen to the podcast, click below.

Robert Dreibelbis is a Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an Assistant Professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Anthropology and Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences. In honor of Global Handwashing Day (October 15th), Dreibelbis shares with Global Waters Radio his experiences with a handwashing behavior change pilot project in Bangladesh that delivered promising results obtained using subconscious environmental cues called “nudging.” Without the use of additional handwashing education interventions, the nudge-based intervention implemented by Dreibelbis and his team increased handwashing among school children by 72 percent during the trial period. This podcast was originally published in October 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Robert Dreibelbis Transcript For more information on the research discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * Global Handwashing Day * “Behavior Change Without Behavior Change Communication: Nudging Handwashing Among Primary School Students in Bangladesh” * University of Oklahoma School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science To listen to the podcast, click below.

Nader Al-Khateeb is a founding member of the Palestinian Water Authority, who today serves as Palestinian Director for EcoPeace, a regional environmental NGO with offices in the West Bank, Jordan, and Israel. In his recent interview with Global Waters Radio, Al-Khateeb discusses the recent opening of the Deir Sha’ar pipeline, one of USAID’s largest water sector investments in the West Bank in ten years. This podcast was originally published in August 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Nader Al Khateeb Transcript For more information on the organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * USAID West Bank/Gaza * EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East To listen to the podcast, click below.

Emily Rand is a water supply and sanitation specialist at the World Bank, who also teaches about the design, implementation, and evaluation of WASH programs at George Washington University in Washington, DC. In her recent conversation with Global Waters Radio, Rand discusses key findings from recent research produced by the World Bank and UNICEF in the growing public health field of child feces management. She also shares examples of improved caregiver behaviors and programs to promote those behaviors. This podcast was originally published in August 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Emily Rand Transcript For more information on the organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * World Bank Water and Sanitation Program * World Bank Water To listen to the podcast, click below.

Annabell Waititu is a water and gender specialist who serves as executive director of the Nairobi, Kenya-based Institute of Environment & Water Management. Drawing on her 15 years of experience mainstreaming gender into natural resource management, Waititu talks to Global Waters Radio about why it is important for women to become involved in water management decisions beyond the household. She also discusses the ways increased gender mainstreaming in water utility workforces can contribute to improved water supply provision. This podcast was originally published in July 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast:  * Global Waters Radio – Annabell Waititu Transcript For more information on the organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * USAID/Kenya * Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (KIWASH) Project * Institute of Environment & Water Management To listen to the podcast, click below.

Piet deVries is Senior WASH Specialist and Liberia Country Director for Global Communities, a Maryland-based NGO with programs in more than 20 countries around the world. In his recent sit-down with Global Waters Radio, deVries discussed his experiences in Liberia promoting community-led total sanitation (CLTS) over the past several years, as former chief of party for USAID/Liberia’s Improved Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (IWASH) program. This podcast was originally published in June 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Piet deVries Transcript For more information on the programs or organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * USAID/Liberia Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (IWASH) Program * USAID/Liberia Partnership for Advancing Community-based Services (PACS) Program * Global Communities To listen to the podcast, click below.

Eddy Perez is a professor of practice in sanitation at the Emory School of Public Health’s Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. In his recent conversation with Global Waters Radio, Perez talks about his career in the sanitation sector, shares lessons he has learned along the way, and explains why sanitation improvements in both rural and urban areas must remain a programming priority in international efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This podcast was originally published in June 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Eddy Perez Transcript For more information on the organizations discussed in this Global Waters Radio podcast: * Emory Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene * Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Water Sanitation & Hygiene To listen to the podcast, click below.

Darren Saywell is Senior Director for the Water, Sanitation and Health Practice with Plan International USA. Plan International has recently teamed up with the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina on “Testing Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Approaches for Scalability,” an operational research initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this conversation with Global Waters Radio, Saywell talks about the project’s key findings and discusses why it is critical for the sanitation sector to replace anecdotal evidence on CLTS’ effectiveness with rigorous evidence. This podcast was originally published in April 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Darren Saywell Transcript For additional materials produced by the “Testing CLTS Approaches for Scalability” project — including implementation guides, policy briefings, and videos — please visit the websites of Plan International USA or the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina. To listen to the podcast, click below.

Christian Holmes is Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, and the Agency’s first Global Water Coordinator. Mr. Holmes is responsible for overseeing the Agency’s global water portfolio. In observance of World Water Day’s 2016 theme — water and jobs — Mr. Holmes talks with Global Waters Radio about the role that USAID water programming plays in fostering sustainable economic development around the world. This podcast was originally published in March 2016. To view or download a written transcript of this podcast: * Global Waters Radio – Christian Holmes Transcript To listen to the podcast, click below.

In May 2015, more than 120 water stakeholders from 22 countries across Africa gathered in Uganda for a Knowledge Forum hosted by the USAID-implemented Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) program. The gathering allowed participants to share best practices and lessons learned for urban water sector reform. To listen to the podcast, click below.