Where to Find USAID at the 2018 UNC Water and Health Conference

The Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy will take place October 29–November 2, 2018, at the University of North Carolina ­(UNC)-Chapel Hill. The UNC Water Institute’s annual event has grown to become one of the most important gatherings in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector held in the United States. The conference this year focuses on five themes:

• Measuring Progress Toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Targets
• Water Scarcity
• Rural Water Supply
• WaSH Equity and Inclusion
• WaSH in Emergencies

USAID staff, partners, and implementers are participating in side events and presentations on topics including: learning from a USAID and Gates Foundation collaboration, designing sanitation enterprises, rural water supply, and examining research’s role in driving policy and promoting change.

Below is a listing of events with USAID participation, which will be updated as more information becomes available.

Monday, October 29

SIDE EVENTS
How Development Agencies Can Strengthen the WaSH Sector’s Performance in Low Income Countries? | WaterAid, IRC, USAID | 8:30–10 a.m., Dogwood room

Lessons from USAID and Gates Foundation’s “WASH for Life” Partnership | The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research | 8:30–10 a.m., Bellflower room

Hygienic Environments for Infants and Young Children: Addressing the Underestimated Pathways of Risk | USAID, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Bellflower room

VERBAL PRESENTATION
CLTS or Smart Subsidies? Both! Milan Thomas, Georgetown University, THRIVE | 2:30–3:30 p.m., Dogwood room (Based on a field experiment from Laos co-funded by USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS))

Measuring Progress Toward SDG Targets | Heather Skilling, USAID Water for Africa through Leadership and Support (WALIS)/DAI | Poster area (Posters will be displayed throughout the day and featured at the evening reception)

Tuesday, October 30

SIDE EVENT
Designing Effective Sanitation Enterprises | USAID, Tetra Tech, FSG, iDE, PSI, WaterAid, WaterSHED | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Bellflower room

Wednesday, October 31

SIDE EVENTS
How Does Research Drive Policy and Practice in the Quest to Change Behavior, Deliver Sanitation Services, and Improve Public Health?  | USAID, UNC Water Institute, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, U.K. Department for International Development | 8:30–10 a.m., Dogwood room

Sustaining Rural Water Supplies in the East African Lowlands: Risks, Innovation and Rewards AECOM, UNICEF ESARO, IRC, Millennium Water | 12:45 – 2:15 p.m., Mountain Laurel room

VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
Using Network Analysis to Understand Alignment Toward Collective Action | Kimberly Pugel, USAID Sustainable WASH Systems (SWS) Learning Partnership/University of Colorado Boulder | 10:45–11:45 a.m., Windflower room

Factors That Influence Use of Monitoring Data for Informing Evidence-Based Decision Making | Marieke Adank, USAID SWS Learning Partnership/IRC | 10:45–11:45 a.m., Bellflower room

Lessons from the Rapid Start Up of Sanitation Market Development in Ethiopia: The Transform WaSH Story | Monte Achenbach, USAID Transform WASH/PSI Ethiopia | 4–5 p.m., Windflower room

POSTER PRESENTATION
Rural Market-Based Sanitation Programming: A Global Review and Assessment of Intervention Characteristics, Outcomes, and Program Costs | Rishi Agarwal, USAID WASHPaLS/FSG | Poster area

Market-Based Approaches and the Sanitation Economy | Jasmine Burton, Toilet Board Coalition (TBC) | Poster area (TBC is a USAID partner)

Thursday, November 1

SIDE EVENTS
Fit-for-purpose Partnerships in the SDG Era | Water Institute and World Vision | 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Sunflower room

VERBAL PRESENTATION
Applying User-Centered Design to Find Local Solutions to WaSH Challenges in Ethiopia | Monte Achenbach, USAID Transform WASH/PSI Ethiopia | 4–5 p.m., Redbud room

POSTER PRESENTATION
Assessment of Field Performance and Acceptance of the SATO Pan in Ethiopia | Abinet Kebede, USAID Transform WASH/IRC; John Butterworth, USAID; and Monte Achenbach, USAID Transform WASH/PSI Ethiopia | Poster area

View full schedules here:

Side Event Schedule   |   Poster Presentations  |  Verbal Presentations