The Regional Coordinator, Mr. Dam MOGBANTE and Network Officer, mr. Manuel FULCHIRON made a mission in Accra, Ghana where they met with the regional office for Africa of the UN Food and Agriculture organization (FAO). The meeting aimed at informing and trying to secure partnership for the nexus « food security, water, food and ecosystem ». GWP shared its experience in particular on the country dialogs undertaken in 2015 in the context of the UN CFS work stream on water and food security as well as the envisaged follow up on water and food security in Africa.
The Country Water Partnership of Benin held on Friday 26 February 2016 the meeting of its Boards. The context is marked by a drastic reduction of finances due to the suspension of the funding of the Pluriannual support programme to the water and sanitation sector and the IWRM institutionnal progression in Benin.
GWPSA will participate in a panel discussion and make a presentation on “Sharing of experiences on successful Water Conservation and Demand Management Programmes in other countries”. The discussion is a part of the sector policy dialogue on Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WDM) that will be hosted by the Policy Unit under the Department of Water Services, South Africa, and will be held on Wednesday 16th March, 2016 in Pretoria.
Zhang River runs through Shanxi Province, Hebei Province and Henan Province as the border of Hebei and Henan Provinces. Within the basin, there is a large population but inadequate water and land resources. The residents of the villages along the river only have a small amount of valley terraces and flood land barely meeting their survival demand.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), We have interviewed Mrs Hadja KORA ZAKI Mariame, the Chair of the National Association of users of the natural resources of the River Niger Basin in Benin (ANU-Benin) in the department of Atacora in the Northwest of the country.
My name is Nompumelelo Ntshalintshali, Principal Water Development Analyst at the Department of Water Affairs in Lesotho. I am active in coordination and regulation within the water sector and have held various positions such as Chairperson of the National WASH Forum, Monitoring and Evaluation Focal person for the Africa Minister’s Council on Water.
The main challenge I face in my work is the realisation that I work in a male dominated environment. For me, meeting that challenge entails having a positive attitude – and that goes a long way. I have also discovered that sticking to my principles and maintaining a good work ethic helps me prove that I can make it.
My advice to women (and men) as we commemorate this day together is “keep focused, keep going, and keep your integrity!”
Name: Maria Amakali
Occupation: Director of Water Resources Management
Country: Namibia
Country of Work: Namibia and SADC
What would you say are the main challenges in your work as a woman?
I started working as hydrologist in the Department of Water Affairs in the early nineties. I had studied in the US and was ready to come and work in a newly independent Namibia. My responsibilities included planning and execution of research and investigations regarding sustainable development of water resources; and providing advice on the effective utilization, protection and conservation of such resources. At a time I found a lot of males, in the department. Except for the two women scientist in Hydrology Division, most women were doing mostly secretarial or office administrative work. I remember one day standing outside, waiting for my ride home and this man came to me asking whose secretary I was. In an independent Namibia, I was quite shocked that the old stereotype mentality that women can only be secretaries still exists. Those days there were not many women or black hydrologists, but I was still offended.
My name is Celine Pole Sikulisimwa, a Congolese senior lecturer at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My field of specialization is water science and technology.
Since December 2015, Global Water Partnership in Central and Eastern Europe develops a project proposal that aims to shift existing water paradigm by an innovative wastewater management in the rural areas.
Innovative wastewater management in rural areas in Central and Eastern Europe