The WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil presented its experience in building cisterns at the International Webinar on Water Access Technologies for Strengthening Food and Nutritional Security, held on 11 and 13 August.
Organised by the National Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security (SESAN) and the Special Advisory Office for International Affairs (AESSIN) of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combating Hunger (MDS), the event addressed topics such as access to water through social technologies; partnerships between government and civil society; climate change; and combating desertification.
There was also a session dedicated to international cooperation and financing, held on 13 August, during which project officer Joélcio Carvalho highlighted the importance of South-South cooperation in the construction of cisterns that ensure water supply in regions affected by water scarcity and the impacts of climate change.
“Our experiences in Tanzania and Kenya show that access to water is the starting point for strengthening local food systems. With water, schools can set up school gardens, produce food to feed pupils and, when there is a surplus, generate income for families by selling the produce. Water, nutrition and development go hand in hand,” he said.
The panel discussion, moderated by Adriana Telles Ribeiro (AESSIN/MDS), also featured contributions from Sérgio Alejandro Dorfler Bustamante (FAO), Rodrigo Matias de Sousa Resende (UNICEF) and Charlotte Bilo (Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty).