Prof Wickramasinghe received the award at the 1st World Summit on “Leaving no one behind” - Human Rights Based Solutions for Access to Water and Sanitation held in Geneva on 7 to 8 February 2019 at the WIPO Conference Centre. The project presented by her was on “Rainwater Harvesting as an Alternative Water Source in CKDU Affected Areas in Sri Lanka” as Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology (CKDU) is prevalent in agricultural areas of the country where ground and surface water become polluted with agrochemicals and toxins.
The other two winning projects were on “Building an Enabling Environment for Universal Access to Safe Water in Colombia” was presented by Eva Manzano from the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) and on “Local Government Lead Action to Translate Policy Commitment – Inclusive Sanitation Progress for Disabled Children” presented by Ramisetty Murali from the Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA) and Snehalatha Mekala from the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERS).
Prof Wickramasinghe is a Steering Committee Member of Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) and a Professor of Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.