Senior Odisha IAS officer in Advisory Board of IWA

Bhubaneswar: The International Water Association (IWA) has announced the establishment of an advisory board and task force for its Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative, to provide guidance, feedback and direction on the initiative’s priorities, activities and performance.

G Mathi Vathanan, Principal Secretary, Housing & Urban Development , Government of Odisha is taken as one of the advisors of the 11 member Advisory Board announced by the IWA.

Reacting for his inclusion as one of the advisors, Mathi Vathanan said, “ It’s Team Odisha. Team Urban. All credit goes to Chief Minister of Odisha.”

It’s worth mentioning that Mathivathana’s approach of a decentralised strategy with community partnership has become a central aspect of the Odisha model of Urban Governance initiatives which have earned a number of national and international recognitions.

The other members are from Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Switzerland, Philippines, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand and Netherlands.

IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative aims to reshape the global agenda on urban sanitation over the coming years, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It forms part of IWA’s work to promote inclusive, resilient, water-wise and sanitation-secure cities.

The advisory board and task force consist of sanitation experts, regulators, strategic partners and members from various global regions in order to secure a balanced geographical representation and address a wide variety of sanitation challenges.

The advisory board is made up of 11 high-profile individuals who will act as advocates for inclusive urban sanitation and provide strategic support and guidance for the initiative. The board will focus on expanding the initiative’s outreach and engagement with the broader water and sanitation sector, and in particular with public sector agencies. It will also oversee the work of the task force.