Rotary and UNESCO-IHE Join to Educate Water Professionals

Global humanitarian organization Rotary and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education are partnering to tackle the world’s water and sanitation crisis by increasing the ranks of trained professionals critically needed to devise, plan and implement solutions in developing countries that bear the brunt of the problem.

Through this new strategic partnership, the Rotary Foundation will provide grants to Rotary clubs and districts allowing them to select and sponsor eight students each year for scholarships to any of three Master of Science degree programs at the UNESCO-IHE institute in Delft, Netherlands. The institute is the world’s largest postgraduate water education facility, and the programs eligible for scholarships are municipal water and infrastructure; water management; and water science and engineering.

"This strategic partnership with UNESCO-IHE enables Rotary to work with a globally recognized leader in the training of water professionals at a time when such experts are desperately needed in many parts of the world," said Rotary Foundation Chair William B. Boyd.

"We are delighted to have this new cooperation with Rotary. The task ahead is no less than training the next generation of water leaders to be equipped to deal with the enormous water challenges ahead in the coming decades," said Andras Szollosi-Nagy, rector of UNESCO-IHE.

According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, about 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to improved sanitation facilities. Waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and dysentery claim nearly 2 million lives a year.