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Professor Albert
Wright |
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The Award |
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Recognizing sanitation and hygiene achievements in
Africa - Lifetime Achievement Award
- Professor Albert Wright -
AfricaSan Awards 2009
Through his work over four decades, Professor Albert Wright has
played a significant role in sanitation and water development at
global, African and national levels. He has been teacher,
researcher, innovator, investment adviser, policy advisor and
inspiration and mentor to an entire generation of the African
water and sanitation community.
Professor Wright started his career as an academic. He taught at
Ghana’s premier engineering university, the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology in Kumasi where he rose
quickly to become Head of the Civil Engineering Department,
Director of Academic and Student Affairs, and Pro
Vice-Chancellor. He is credited with setting up the Institute of
Mining and Mineral Engineering of the University.
Some 32 years ago, Professor Wright developed the K-VIP latrine
(Kumasi VIP latrine), starting from the Reid’s Odorless Earth
Closet used in South Africa. It was in course of that
development that he coined the term ‘VIP’ latrine which has
become part of the vocabulary in sanitation.
Professor Wright was drawn into global sector development ahead
of the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade
(1981-91) when he participated in a seminal World Bank research
project on low-cost technologies for excreta disposal which
shaped technical options promoted through the Decade and beyond.
He was a founder member of the Technology Advisory Group (which
subsequently became the Water and Sanitation Program) and was
associated with the World Bank for nearly two decades, 11 years
as a senior staff member. During this time, he and his TAG
colleagues led global thinking in low-cost sanitation, with
Professor Wright providing key insights into approaches for
Africa. Amongst his many contributions was the concept of
strategic sanitation, an approach that advocates the use of both
demand and incentives in sanitation service planning and
delivery.
Wright has taken on many senior global advisory positions. He is
a member of the Advisory Committee of the Global Sanitation Fund
which is managed by the Water Supply and Sanitation
Collaborative Council. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Global
Water Partnership, having previously served as a member of its
Technical Committee. He also served for twenty years on the WHO
Expert Advisory Panel on Environmental Health. In that capacity,
he contributed to various expert committees, including those on
filariasis and solid waste disposal. At one time Professor
Wright was Chairman of the International Management Board of the
International Reference Centre (IRC) for Community Water Supply
at Rijkwik, the Netherlands. He has been a member of the
Technical Advisory Committee of the World Water Assessment
Program, and a member of the Expert Group on Indicators,
Monitoring, and Databases for the Third World Water Development
Report. He was the Co-Chair for the Task Force on Water and
Sanitation which was set up under the Millennium Project
established by the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi
Annan
Professor Wright has worked in most African countries at some
point in his career. He prepared the “Africa Water Vision 2025”
for the African Development Bank, the OAU, and the ECA. He
served as Chair of the Africa Water Task Force and, in that
capacity, played a leading role in the establishment of the
Africa Water Facility for financing water and sanitation
programs in Africa – a Facility that is now being managed by the
African Development Bank. It was also in that capacity that he
helped to organize the Water Dome which showcased the activities
and developments of many members of the water sector during the
World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in
2002. Most recently, as a UNICEF consultant, he provided
technical support during the preparation and the running of the
first African Union Summit on Water Supply and Sanitation.
Through a career of major achievements, Albert has remained a
devout, thoughtful, and caring person. He has the greatest
respect from his colleagues as much for his personal qualities
as his professional achievements. For a lifetime of commitment,
selflessness and outstanding contributions to sanitation in
Africa, AMCOW and the AfricaSan Movement are pleased to present
to Professor Albert Wright, this Lifetime Achievement Award.
Note: The award was given on November
9-13, 2009, in Johannesburg, South Africa by
the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW),
formed in 2002 to encourage policies
and cooperation in
"security, social and economic'
developmental matters among member states. The purpose
of management
of water resources and the
provision of water supply services for
poverty eradication was a key objective in
the formation of the group.
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