World Health Organization
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Conversations With Water Leaders: Jan Eliasson on Millennium Development Goals and Sectoral Cooperation
22 May 2013 - 08:57 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
sinGapore — Third in a series “Conversations With Water Leaders” conducted by OOSKAnews in association with Singapore International Water Week.
45 Countries Have Less Than 50 Percent Sanitation Coverage: UN
16 May 2013 - 08:08 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
new yorK, ny, united states — Despite large gains in increasing the number of people with access to an improved sanitation source, 45 countries still have less than 50 percent coverage, according to a new United Nations’ report
China Still Tests Bottled Water Based on Soviet Standards
2 May 2013 - 09:59 by Local Press Report
BEIJING (South China Morning News) — China still follows regulations adopted from the Soviet Union to test bottled drinking water, the Beijing News re
Tajikistan to Host International Water Forum
26 Apr 2013 - 08:01 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan — The Tajik government is preparing to host a high-level international water forum in August to celebrate the International Year of Water Cooperation, according to participants at the 16th Network Me
WaterAid Joins UN’s Water Action Hub
18 Apr 2013 - 09:21 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
new yorK, ny, united states — International water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) NGO WaterAid announced this week that it has joined the United Nations’ Water Action Hub, an online platform that allows users to identify poten
UNHCR Concerned About Increasing Number of Syrian Refugees in Iraq
3 Apr 2013 - 09:46 by Local Press Report
Geneva (UN Refugee Agency) — The UN refugee agency on Tuesday warned that with the Syria crisis now into its third year, and refugees continuing to cross borders to neighbouring countries in large numbers, pressure to accomm
Azerbaijan Considers New Water Standard
19 Mar 2013 - 09:36 by Local Press Report
BAKU (Azerbaijan Business Center) — Azerbaijan is likely to adopt the new state drinking water standard. Fazil Talibli, head of the press service of the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan,
Haiti Announces New Cholera Elimination Plan, Calls for New Funding
4 Mar 2013 - 10:59 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
HAITI, PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Haitian government last week announced its new $2.2 billion USD plan to eliminate cholera from the island of Hispaniola (which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
China’s Rapid Growth Leads to Both Environmental Problems and Innovative Policies: Lincoln Institute
28 Feb 2013 - 01:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
united states, MA, CAMBRIDGE — China's rapid urbanization and economic growth has created environmental problems, and also spurred innovative policies to address them, according to new research released this week by Cambridge, M
Brazilian Health Ministry Issues Water Purification Standards for Pharmaceuticals
25 Feb 2013 - 08:56 by Local Press Report
SAO PAULO (Pharmabiz.com) — Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has now issued a guidance on Quality Water Purification Systems for Pharmaceutical Use. While these guidelines are issued early this month
Chinese Environmental Officials Offered Money to Swim in Dirty Waters
22 Feb 2013 - 11:04 by Local Press Report
BEIJING (The Australian) — Environment protection chiefs in China are being taunted with challenges: cash rewards if they dare to swim in the rivers for which they are responsible. To no one's surprise, given the reekin
Chemical Pollutants, Arctic Melting Tops UNEP List of Emerging Environmental Issues
21 Feb 2013 - 10:47 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
nairoBi, Kenya — Risks from chemical products and Arctic ice melting are this year’s major emerging issues for the global environment, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Mexico’s Durango State Works to Decrease Arsenic in Water
29 Jan 2013 - 01:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
Mexico, DURANGO — Concerned about arsenic contamination, authorities in the city of Durango, the capital of Mexico’s Durango state, are working to cut back on groundwater extraction and instead increase use of purif
Egypt to Carry Out Vaccinations After Polio Found in Cairo Sewer
25 Jan 2013 - 11:00 by Local Press Report
CAIRO (Ynetnews.com ) — Egypt's Health Ministry will carry out a vaccination campaign for children in several Cairo areas after polio was recently found in the capital's sewage. The World Health Organization says a
Zimbabwe Condemns 26 Boreholes Due to Fecal Contamination
4 Jan 2013 - 11:02 by Local Press Report
HARARE (The Herald (Zimbabwe)) — Twenty-six boreholes are contaminated with faecal matter that can cause typhoid.
Haiti to Call for $2 Billion USD in Aid for Cholera
30 Nov 2012 - 09:21 by Local Press Report
PORT-AU-PRINCE (The Guardian) — Haiti is to call upon the international community for more than $2 billion USD to fight cholera amid growing evidence that the world's worst epidemic was started by UN peacekeepers. The govern
Singapore Utility Cleans Up Pang Sua Canal
13 Nov 2012 - 10:28 by Local Press Report
sinGapore (Channel News Asia) — Clean-up work is ongoing at Pang Sua Canal in Choa Chu Kang after the canal and the nearby park areas were hit by foam. The foam made its way here after the warehouse blaze in Upper Bukit Tima
World Is “Playing Games” With Water Management: Biswas
31 Oct 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
sinGapore — The biggest problem in water management, according to National University of Singapore Professor Asit Biswas, is that “the world is playing games.”
Ibero-American Federation to Discuss Water, Sanitation Threats to Children
24 Oct 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
Spain, MADRID — The Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen (FIO) will discuss issues affecting children in the region, including lack of drinking water and sanitation, and seek solutions to them during its meeting
Sierra Leone Cholera On Decline
19 Oct 2012 - 08:48 by Local Press Report
FREETOWN (IRIN) — Sierra Leone's worst cholera outbreak in 15 years has eased in the past two months and new infections each week have recently dipped to below 1,000. Some 841 new cases were reported in the f
Chilean Environmental Group Raises Concerns About Antofagasta Desal Plant
9 Oct 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
CHILE, ANTOFAGASTA — Chilean NGO BIDAS (Comprehensive Welfare for Sustainable Environmental Rights) has raised concerns about a planned desalination project in the country’s Antofagasta region.
Caribbean Bloc Joins Regional Coalition to Fight Cholera
28 Sep 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional bloc has joined the new regional “Cholera-Free Hispaniola” initiative, which aims to eradicate the disease in Haiti and the Dominican Republic by 2022.
Guinea's Capital City Residents Call for Cholera Vaccine
14 Sep 2012 - 09:22 by Local Press Report
CONAKRY (IRIN) — With Guinea facing its gravest cholera outbreak since 2007, some residents of the capital Conakry are clamouring to be vaccinated. Conakry - where rubbish is piled high at every turn, many n
Poor Chemical Management Causes $263 Billion USD in Economic Losses: UNEP and WHO
10 Sep 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
nairoBi, Kenya — Poor management of chemicals, including chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is causing massive pollution of freshwater resources worldwide, including rivers, lakes, aquifers and wetlands, accordin
Bali Hosts Third East Asian Sanitation Conference
10 Sep 2012 - 09:42 by Local Press Report
BALI (Xinhua) — Fourteen governments from East Asia and the Pacific kicked off the 3rd East Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Bali on Monday in a bid to achieve the ultimate goal of universal s
First EU Citizens Initiative to Make Human Right to Water a Reality
4 Sep 2012 - 09:45 by Local Press Report
BRUSSELS (New Europe Online) — An online petition has been launched to make the Human Right to water a European Citizens initiative call. As of 3 September following some hurdles the online petition is now effective and can
Palestinians Call on Israel to Increase Freshwater Allocation; UN Warns of Crisis in Gaza
30 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
Israel, JERUSALEM — While Israel’s extensive desalination program contributes relief to its water scarcity problems, Palestinians are voicing environmental concerns and calling for an increase in their share of freshw
Guinea-Worm Disease On Way to Eradication: WHO
29 Aug 2012 - 08:51 by Local Press Report
Geneva (UN News Service) — The United Nations health agency is reporting a continuing decline in the number of guinea worm cases - one of two diseases, along with polio, that it says is slated for eradication. The numbe
Hardest Part Still to Come: UNICEF
29 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by Local Press Report
new yorK (UNICEF) — United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund issued the following news release: As World Water Week kicks off, UNICEF says that despite tremendous progress in the last two decades in
Egyptian Health Ministry Blamed for Bottled Water Shortage
22 Aug 2012 - 09:49 by Local Press Report
CAIRO, Egypt (Egypt Independent) — The Chamber of Food Industries is blaming the Health Ministry for a bottled water shortage after the ministry ordered seven companies shut down in June, when they failed tests
Humanitarian Groups Warn of Clean Water Crisis in Gaza
14 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
LONDON, United Kingdom — UK-based humanitarian organization Oxfam said last week that the media focus on political issues in the Gaza Strip is masking serious humanitarian issues, particularly access to clean water for the
Nigeria Gives Approval for Delta Oil Clean-Up
7 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
LAGOS, Nigeria — On the anniversary of an important report into oil pollution in Ogoniland, the Nigerian government has given the go-ahead for a major oil contamination clean-up in the Niger Delta region.
Water Shortages Predicted for Philippine Capital
7 Aug 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila’s water supply is likely to be short by 100 million liters per day by 2022, which means government will need to develop new sources of water supply, according to the Manila Waterworks
Serbian Health Facility Accuse Kosovo Water Company of Cutting Off Supply
23 Jul 2012 - 09:08 by Local Press Report
KOSOVO, GRAČANICA (b92.net (Serbia)) — Kosovo regional water company has cut off water supply to a Čaglavica infirmary which is now unable to treat its patients.
Pakistan's NIH to Test Water, Sewage for Polio Virus
16 Jul 2012 - 08:21 by Local Press Report
RAWALPINDI (Dawn.com) — Commissioner Rawalpindi Imdadullah Bosal has directed the Water and Sanitation Agency and the district health department to collect water and sewage samples in the presence of World Health Organi
Uranium Found in Groundwater in India’s Punjab State
13 Jul 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
India, CHandiGarH — Traces of uranium have been found in groundwater in India’s Punjab state, according to Federal Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh.
Water, Poverty, Slum MDGs on Target: UN Report
6 Jul 2012 - 10:39 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
new yorK, ny, united states — The annual UN report on progress in obtaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), released July 2, found that three of the eight targets – those pertaining to extreme poverty, slum dwelling an
Swaziland Water Meets WHO Standarnds
22 Jun 2012 - 08:54 by Local Press Report
MBABANE (Times of Swaziland) — The drinking water quality standard used in most countries is based on World Health Organisation (WHO) water standards.
Rio+20 Side Event Provides Solutions for Hispaniola Water, Sanitation Issues
21 Jun 2012 - 09:57 by Local Press Report
RIO DE JANEIRO (Pan American Health Organization) — The UN side event at Rio+20 Water and Sustainable Development: Elimination of Cholera in Hispaniola, promoted by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), present
Critics Say Final Rio+20 Document Lacks Concrete Actions
18 Jun 2012 - 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
Brazil, RIO DE JANEIRO — The final document for the Rio+20 earth summit, the preliminary version of which was leaked online last week, describes water as a priority issue.
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