Rwanda hosts the 7th edition of international water association, water and development congress and exhibition 2023
By Scovia Atuhaire
Kigali: Water professionals from around the world have converged in Kigali Rwanda for the 7th edition of the International water association, water and development congress and exhibition 2023 to exchange knowledge and experience and challenges around the sector.
The professionals will also share best practices that are accelerating progress towards ensuring safe, sustainable and climate resilient water and sanitation services for all.
A four days workshop has attracted water experts from Uganda, Kenya,Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Netherlands, Malaysia,China,Germany among others who are focused on urban water and urban water services as well as participants from industry and agriculture.
In four days, workshop which is held under the theme water, sanitation and climate change resilience-keys to a water -wise future.
Participants highlighted innovation as one way of achieving sanitation services in the whole world.
Loga Sunthri Veeraiah the Executive, resource planning and engineering services from Malaysia said innovation is a journey that can’t be achieved immediately.
She revealed that there is need for more and more policies on innovation in order to improve sanitation services.
“Its not that its only policy that can push for innovation but innovation can as well push for policy. However, we need to ensure that the policy supports innovation” she said.
Fidele Nteziyaremye from Water for People, Rwanda however noted that community participation is very important for innovation.
“In Rwanda here, we took sanitation as a business and it is also helping us as a country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as creating jobs for our people” he said.
Nteziyaremye said creating new innovation technologies using sanitation as a business is a great approach and benefits both the country and people in the community.
“We are also using a district wide approach which is helping local governments’ in planning. Before 2015 Water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) were not included in planning but they were later incorporated which now supporting the sanitation Framework” he said.
