(SciDev.Net) January 8, 2010 – Scientists have used nanotechnology to turn paper into a sensor that can detect toxins in drinking water. Read more

(SciDev.Net) Cape Town, December 29, 2009 – The Water Centres of Excellence Initiative, started by New Partnerships for Development in Africa (NEPAD), aims to promote cooperation and knowledge transfer among water research institutions to secure adequate clean water and manage resources for national and regional development. Read more

October 23, 2009 – Household water treatment (HWT) is being widely promoted as an appropriate intervention for reducing the burden of waterborne disease in poor communities in developing countries. A recent study has raised concerns about the effectiveness of HWT, in part because of concerns over the lack of blinding and in part because of considerable heterogeneity in the reported effectiveness of randomized controlled trials. This study set out to attempt to investigate the causes of this heterogeneity and so identify factors associated with good health gains. Read the report | Read article in newscientist.com

September 8, 2009 – The Institute for Public Health and Water Research in partnership with the Texas A & M Health Science Center, the University of East Anglia and the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean, has launched Water for Life: The Trinidad and Tobago Initiative. Funded by a three-year renewable grant for USD $300,000 from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Blue Water Project, this initiative will provide an educational intervention to various communities within Trinidad and Tobago. Read press release | Read article in theeagle.com

September 8, 2009 – Dr. Jennie Ward-Robinson, Executive Director of IPWR, to participate in a panel discussion at the Chicago Summit on Sport and Sustainability co-hosted by Chicago 2016 and the City of Chicago. Dr. Ward-Robinson's presentation will focus on "The Implications for safe water and a sustainable environment in promoting healthy lifestyles among Athletes. Read more

September 8, 2009 – A study funded by the Institute for Public Health and Water Research has provided the first post-intervention follow-up analysis of a combined household water treatment and hand-washing behavior change intervention. Read more

(SciDev.Net) August 31, 2009 – Doubt has been cast on a much-lauded method of disinfecting water using only sunlight, after a study found that it doesn't reduce diarrhoea among children in families using the technique. Read more

August 6, 2009 – Study finds that for overweight or middle-aged and older adults, consuming approximately two cups of water prior to each of the three main daily meals may increase weight loss when combined with a hypocaloric diet. Read more

(SciDev.Net) July 28, 2009 – A mobile pilot system could make preliminary feasibility tests for desalination easier and cheaper for developing countries. Read more

July 9, 2009 – Working paper investigates appropriate entry point for health promoting schools intervention in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Read more

July 8, 2009 – Consumers know less about the water they pay dearly for in bottles than what they can drink almost for free from the tap because the two are regulated differently, congressional investigators and nonprofit researchers say in new reports. Read more

July 7, 2009 – Advocacy groups such as Greenpeace, Water Aid and End Water Poverty issued a call to leaders of the G8 nations prior to the start of their 2009 summit in Italy to tackle global water and sanitation issues, especially those in developing countries. Read more

(International Journal of Epidemiology) July 2, 2009 – To our knowledge this is the first post-intervention follow-up study of a combined household water treatment and handwashing behaviour change intervention, and the first post-intervention follow-up of either intervention type to include child health measurement. The lack of child health impacts is consistent with unsustained behaviour adoption. Our findings highlight the difficulty of implementing behaviour-based household water treatment and handwashing outside of intensive efficacy trials. Read more

March 25, 2009 – The Royal Bank of Canada and Unilever Canada have released a new water attitudes study, based on a survey of over 2,000 Canadians, that was commissioned by the two companies. 2009 Canadian Water Attitudes Study

Washington, D.C., March 20, 2009 – The American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Institute for Public Health and Water Research (IPWR) today announced a new partnership focused on water and its importance to protecting health, in time for World Water Day on March 22. Read more