MEDIA ALERT (Photo Opportunity)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WORLD HEALTH DAY
BOB MCMULLAN, MP TO LAUNCH A PUBLICATION ON SUSTAINABLE SANITATION

On World Health Day, April 7 2008, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan, MP will launch Sharing Experiences: Sustainable Sanitation in South East Asia and the Pacific, a joint publication between WaterAid Australia and International WaterCentre (IWC).

In South East Asia and the Pacific, over 185 million people lack access to adequate sanitation with one child dying every seven minutes as a result of diarrhoeal diseases directly related to this lack of basic facilities. 

With 2008 designated the International Year of Sanitation by the United Nations, the timely book contributes significantly to knowledge exchange for meeting the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the number of people without access to sanitation by 2015, further highlighting the contribution Australians have made in reducing the sanitation crisis in our region.

PRESS EVENT

WHO:  

Bob McMullan, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance

Adam Laidlaw, CEO WaterAid Australia

Mark Pascoe, CEO International WaterCentre

WHAT:

Launch of the joint WaterAID Australia– International WaterCentre publication, Sharing Experiences: Sustainable Sanitation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

WHEN:

World Health Day, April 7 2008 at 11 am

WHERE:

Melbourne Water, 100 Wellington Pde, East Melbourne

Interviews of first-hand accounts available after the launch.

Sharing Experiences is a collection of case studies in sanitation from nine countries highlighting practical work from a range of organisations including local and international NGOs, government agencies and international donors. The case studies focus on what worked, what didn’t work and why, with the overall goal of contributing to a community of practice in low-cost sustainable sanitation in the region.

International WaterCentre (www.watercentre.org) is a joint venture partnership of The University of Queensland, Monash University, Griffith University and The University of Western Australia which aims to build capacity in water management through education, training and research.

WaterAid (http://www.wateraid.org/) is an international charity which aims to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

The Australian Agency for International Development supported the production of the publication through the Australian Water Research Facility.

The publication will be available for download on www.watercentre.org on April 7 2008.

Ends

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For more information:

Agnese Middleton
International WaterCentre
07 3221 1772
a.middleton@watercentre.org
www.watercentre.org