Loughborough

• Companies
• Category
• Photographs
• Forums
• News
• Home

Information on Loughborough

Partners for Water and Sanitation join Loughborough University

Posted on 12/03/2008
J. Milton

A national organisation that supports water and sanitation projects in developing countries is celebrating a move to Loughborough University today (12 March).

Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS) was established in 2002 in response to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal targets to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2015.

It is a network of UK organisations that work, on a voluntary basis, to help improve access to safe water and sanitation for people living in Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa. PAWS members come from Government, the private sector and civil society, and include water companies, consultancies, development non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Government departments and agencies, law firms and trade unions, as well independent consultants. It is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID).

The organisation has now joined the University’s Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) – an institute dedicated to helping improve the health and wellbeing of some of the world’s poorest people. Prior to this move PAWS was based within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Speaking about the move to Loughborough University, Clare Twelvetrees, Head of the PAWS Secretariat, said: “I am really pleased that the PAWS Secretariat has relocated to WEDC. To maximize the impact of our work it was important that PAWS was based in an institute that had similar goals and considerable experience in improving access to water and sanitation in low and middle-income countries. Expertise and advice from WEDC staff, including a dedicated PAWS team, is invaluable in ensuring that the work of UK partners is appropriate, targeted and makes a real difference to water and sanitation in Africa.”

Ian Smout, Director of WEDC added: “We are delighted to welcome PAWS to the University. Its work compliments that carried out by WEDC and by working closely together I am sure we can deepen our understanding and increase our impact in Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa, so people get better access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.”

PAWS officially marked its move to Loughborough University at its annual forum event, held at the campus today (12 March). The event was attended by its members, as well as the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Shirley Pearce.