Stockholm – Service operators and public officials from Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil and Colombia were recognized for innovative contributions to water and sanitation by the Inter-American Development Bank and FEMSA Foundation today, in the context of World Water Week congress taking place in the Swedish capital.
Federico Basañes, chief the IDB’s Water and Sanitation Division, and Genaro Borrego Estrada, Director of Corporate Affairs for FEMSA, awarded the second edition of the Water and Sanitation Prize, which was inaugurated last year with the goal of recognizing outstanding contributions to the challenge of providing sustainable and accessible water and sanitation services in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey, Mexico, received the award for water management in recognition of its successful strategy to voluntarily reduce consumption and encourage conservation of water over the last 20 years.
The Government of the State of Amazonas, Brazil, received the award for sanitation management in recognition of the results of the Programa Socioambiental dos Igarapés de Manaus (PROSAMIM), which implemented an integrated solution to water, sanitation and housing problems in low-income communities in the city of Manaos.
Aguas de Cartagena, Colombia, received a special mention for its success in the commercial management of accounts in low-income districts.
Empresa Nicaraguense de Aqueductos y Alcantarillados also received a special mention for the construction and operation of a waste-water treatment plant in the city of Managua.
Representatives from each of the four awardees gave presentations describing the recognized project or initiative as part of “Latin America Day” at World Water Week, considered the largest international congress specializing in this sector.
The winners, as well as the recipients of special mentions, will receive scholarships financed by the FEMSA Foundation send water and sanitation professionals to the Centro del Agua para América Latina y el Caribe (CAALCA), a specialized training and research institution jointly created by the IDB, FEMSA and Tecnológico de Monterrey.