Clinton Global Initiative 2011 (Girls, Women, and Water)

Clean water and just watershed management are issues critical to healthy development that disproportionally affect girls and women. In most societies, women are responsible for collecting and managing the household water supply for cooking, cleaning, bathing, drinking, growing food, and raising livestock. Beyond the management of household water lie larger systemic issues, including unequal access to water supplies, lack of access to sanitation, lack of adequate facilities (particularly in schools), unequal land rights, and the inability to use water for large-scale food or livestock production. Similar to food allocation and money management, studies show that when women are in charge of water, water practices improve for all members of the family and community, and that projects designed and run with the participation of girls and women are more sustainable and effective than those that are not. This panel will explore how girls and women can tangibly improve outcomes for the health and productivity of households and ensure the long-term sustainability of water resources for entire communities. Furthermore, the session will focus on what can be scaled, and how to include girls and women in scaling efforts.

Participants:
Marta Echavarria, Founding Director, EcoDecision
Betty Kyazike, Branch Manager, Living Goods
Pat Mitchell, President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media
Mark Tercek, President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy
Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever

http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/ourmeetings/2011/meeting_annual_multimedia_player.asp?id=67