Millennium Water Alliance @ UNC Water and Health Conference 2025

Thank you for your interest in learning more about the Millennium Water Alliance!

MWA aims to deliver global water security and resilience results by mobilizing a community of expert members, driving collective action and thought leadership, and influencing strategy funding. The alliance includes 27 organizations (NGOs, businesses, research institutes) that operate across 100+ countries.

If you would like to view a complete list of MWA-led events, please follow this link.

If you would like to join MWA or find opportunities to work together, please reach out to us at info@mwawater.org.


Join Our Events

Monday, October 27

Beyond Basic: Harmonizing Advanced Indicators for Global WaSH in Schools Monitoring

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Splash International, Helvetas


The Additionality of Climate Resilient Sanitation in National Programs

Location: Sunflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


Can technical innovation really increase handpump functionality? Experiences from Uganda,
Malawi, and Zambia

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Living Water International, WaterAid


Understanding the Pathogen Flows Associated with Sanitation in Urban Communities and Health Care Facilities

Location: Sunflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


Local Solutions for Global Impact: Strengthening Menstrual Health through Local Access Models

Location: Windflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


From Inception to Exit: How WaSH Operation and Maintenance Systems Evolve and Strengthen

Location: Bellflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Splash International


Engaging local faith actors to accelerate progress to meet SDG6 – multi-country study and
case stories

Location: Azalea

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Living Water International, Water Mission, World Vision


Assessing Household Water Insecurity Among Pastoralist Communities in
Northern Kenya

Location: Redbud

Speaker: Emmanuel Olela, Millennium Water Alliance


Moving Beyond Rhetoric: Effectively Engaging Governments in WaSH Co-Financing
– Evidence from a Positive Deviance Study

Location: Windflower

Speaker: Fiker Abebe, Splash International


Insights from Rural Practitioners: A Thematic Analysis of Implementation Challenges
in Solar Powered Water Systems

Location: Azalea

Speaker: Tess Brodie, Global Water Center


5 – Impacts of Rainfall and Chlorination on Contamination at Groundwater Sources in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda

Presenter: Catherine McManus, The Water Project


8 – Assessing Multidimensional WaSH Inequalities in Uganda: Impacts, Drivers, and Pathways to Equity

Presenter: Comfort Hajra Mukasa, WaterAid Uganda


11 – Contextual approaches for hard-to-reach areas communities in Ethiopia

Presenter: Kelly Alexander, CARE


12 – Toward Thriving Communities: What Safe Water Alone Can’t Achieve

Presenter: Kimberly Gerken, Water Mission International


14 – Cholera Trends and Environmental Risks: Insights from Lake Kivu Bordering Areas in Western Rwanda

Presenter: Uwimana Uwimana Martha, WaterAid Rwanda


16 – Applications of an in situ E. coli contamination sensor for drinking waters in east Africa

Presenter: Whitney Knopp, University of Colorado Boulder


Tuesday, October 28

Climate, hygiene, and health: developing a shared research agenda for future adaptations

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


Global Progress on WaSH in Healthcare Facilities: Implementation of WaSH FIT and the Practical Steps

Location: Sunflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: PATH, Save the Children


Leveraging Data to Address Climate, Water, and Health Challenges Globally

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Millennium Water Alliance, University of Colorado Boulder, Helvetas, PATH


Unified for universal coverage: Faith-based organizations as allies for WaSH in healthcare facilities

Location: Sunflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Catholic Relief Services, Water Mission, World Vision International


Unlocking Period Education: From Global Solutions to Tanzania’s MHH Journey

Location: Windflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Splash International


Financial sustainability of rural water points: is committee management sufficient?

Location: Redbud

Speaker: Catherine McManus, The Water Project


The Missing Link: Evaluating the Role of Mothers in Menstrual Health Interventions in Ethiopia

Location: Windflower

Speaker: Emily Cruz, Splash International


8 – Assessing health and dignity challenges, and evaluating the financial scheme’s impact on sanitation workers’ healthcare in Bangladesh

Presenter: Md Tahmidul Islam, WaterAid Bangladesh


17 – Beyond Water User Committees: The Overlooked Role of Landowners in Spring Management in Western Kenya

Presenter: Allison Gregory, The Water Project


Wednesday, October 29

The Emerging Global Public Health Emergency – Drivers, Diseases, and Diplomacy: What Role for WaSH?

Location: Grumman Auditorium

MWA Members Panelists: Yankho Mataya, WaterAid Zambia


Soft Power, Safe Water: How WaSH May Have Survived the Great Purge

Location: Willow

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Millennium Water Alliance


Doing more with less: Digitalization and data-driven management of water services
at scale

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: World Vision, Catholic Relief Services


Promoting Use of Personal Protective Equipment through Iterative Co-Design of Training with Sanitation Workers

Location: Windflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: CAWST


Hygiene integration into various public health programmes and policies

Location: Azalea

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


Integrating WaSH Interventions Across Schools, Healthcare Facilities, and Communities: Evidence from Northern Uganda

Location: Dogwood

Speaker: Hajra Mukasa Comfort, WaterAid Uganda


Validation and applications of an E. coli contamination risk sensor in US surface waters

Location: Sunflower

Speaker: Joshua Klaus, University of Colorado Boulder


Sustainable Solutions to Ensure Piped System Water Quality: Lessons from Inline Chlorination System in Ethiopia

Location: Azalea

Speaker: Mussie Tezazu Asmare, Millennium Water Alliance


Groundwater at Risk: Applying DRASTIC-GIS Modeling to Guide WaSH Decision-Making in Ethiopia’s Tana Sub-Basin

Location: Azalea

Speaker: Kelly Alexander, CARE


1 – Assessing microbial cleanliness of high-touch surfaces in health facilities in Uganda: comparative study using locally-produced sodium hypochlorite and commercially available chlorine

Presenter: Adam Drolet, PATH


5 – Prevalence and factors associated with different MHM products using status among the low-income women in Bangladesh

Presenter: Hasin Jahan, WaterAid Bangladesh


6 – Scaling Urban WaSH Systems in Low-Resource Settings: Integrating Infrastructure, Governance, and Community-Led Solutions in Mbale City, Uganda

Presenter: Hajra Mukasa Comfort, WaterAid Uganda


7 – Reusable Sanitary Pads for Menstrual Hygiene Management: Breaking Barriers, Inspiring Change in Rwanda

Presenter: Jean Baptiste Nsengiyumva, WaterAid Rwanda


10 – Where is My Right? Social Security Access for Sanitation Workers in Nepal

Presenter: Seema Rajouria, WaterAid Nepal


11 – Estimating the Cost and Cost Savings of a WaSH/IPC Program in Health Facilities in Nigeria

Presenter: Stephen Sara, Save the Children


Thursday, October 30

Centering children and adolescents in WaSH research and practice: Current insights and agenda setting

Location: Bellflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Helvetas, University of Colorado Boulder


Measuring Climate Resilience in WaSH: From Indicators to Impact

Location: Grumman Auditorium

MWA Members Panelists: Styvers Kathuni, Millennium Water Alliance

Co-Moderators: Darren Saywell, Millennium Water Alliance


Soft Power, Safe Water: Mobilizing a New WaSH Advocacy in a Radical Foreign Policy Landscape

Location: Willow

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: Millennium Water Alliance


Accelerating Progress: Global Efforts to Eliminate Lead in Drinking Water

Location: Sunflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: RTI International, World Vision


Technical Working Group, Sensor-Based Monitoring

Location: Windflower

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: PATH, Global Water Center


Improving hand hygiene in community settings (Session 2): Acting on the new global normative guidelines

Location: Azalea

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: WaterAid


Advancing Monitoring for Carbon-Financed Water Security: Methodological Innovation and
Insights from East African Projects

Location: Redbud

Speaker: John Ecklu, University of Colorado Boulder


Lead-Free Learning: The Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ Approach

Location: Sunflower

Speaker: Laura Allen Gates, RTI International


Friday, October 31

Working Group Session: 3rd annual session: International Working Group on Toxic Metals

Location: Redbud

MWA Member(s) Supporting Convening: RTI