About WASH 2019

Welcome to the 5th Asian Symposium on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH 2019), which will be held on Friday and Saturday, December 20-21, 2019 at the Bunka Koryu Kaikan in Hiroshima City, Japan. WASH 2019 is being held in partnership with the 7th Asian Symposium on Healthcare Without Borders (HWB 2019).

WASH 2019 will coincide with the start of winter in Japan, which is actually an ideal time of the year for visiting Hiroshima. All attending participants will have an opportunity for travel around Hiroshima, including its two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Peace Park and the Shrine Island of Miyajima (Itsukushima). The venue site overlooks the Honkawa River with a riverside walking path that leads directly to Peace Park.

This is a small, international, peer-reviewed symposium with a limited number of oral and poster presentation time slots. We encourage all interested participants to submit presentations as early as possible. Please note that submissions and registration will close when the event has reached its capacity.

About WASH 2019

Water, declared a basic human right essential to the enjoyment of life and all other human rights by the UN, is inextricably linked to a nation’s health, economy and environment, yet today over 780 million people lack access to clean water and nearly 1.9 billion lack adequate sanitation. The stark contrast between developed and developing nations amplifies the current water and sanitation crisis. Multiple factors, most notably poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships, place developing regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Southern and Eastern Asia in a struggle for survival. Furthermore, social and environmental challenges like rapid urbanization, climate change, increasing agriculture water consumption, rising pollution levels, and the depletion of water, exacerbate the problem and intensify the competition for available water.

In addition to the lack of safe and potable water, inadequate access to improved sanitation facilities combined with poor hygienic practices contributes to impoverishment and spawns devastating health effects, especially in rural areas and urban slums in developing countries. Without effective sanitation systems, untreated human waste contaminates ground water, compromises other water supplies, and allows infections and diseases to spread. Over 1.5 million children under the age of five die each year as a result of diarrheal disease, and in India alone, approximately 600,000 children fall victim to diarrhea or pneumonia annually as a result of toxic water and poor hygiene. Regrettably, many of these incidents are preventable by using clean water technologies such as connections to public sewers or septic systems, toilets and latrines, and basic hygiene habits like hand washing with soap at critical times.

Without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation, the well-being of the human race is threatened, particularly in developing countries. As the world population increases, so does the demand for water. The technologies exist to rectify the water crisis, but progress is hampered by the lack of infrastructural investment by both the private and public sectors. Decision-makers at all levels must be involved to ensure the lives and dignity of the millions who depend on the rest of the world to intervene on their behalf.

With the theme Public Health and WASH, this symposium will focus on food safety, public health nursing, sustainable development, waste management, cultural and societal impacts on health and educating communities on the importance of improving access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. It is hoped that today’s water crisis can be met with viable global solutions.

Submissions of 250 words in English are due by Friday, November 1, 2019.

Access to Clean Water
Disaster Management
Education for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Food Safety and Food Science
Health, Culture and Society
Public Health and WASH Promotion
Sustainable Development
Toilets, Sanitation and Hygiene
Waste Management
Waterborne Diseases
Other Areas (please specify)