211614 Water profiteering

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 10:30 AM

Donna Barry, NP MPH , Partners In Health, Cambridge, MA
  
Deregulation and privatization of water around the world threatens public health. Water is necessary for human life and therefore, a human right. Because it is the role of the State to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of its citizens, governments have the responsibility to ensure people have access to safe and clean water. When water provision becomes privatized and deregulated, prices skyrocket and therefore the poor are denied access to water and thus human rights are violated. Examples of how privatizing water supplies in Bolivia, South Africa and the United States will be used to show the impact of these policy decisions. In addition, the role of international financial institutions play in requiring States to privatize water systems will be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe how deregulation and privatization of water around the world threatens public health 2. Explain the role that international financial institutions play in requiring national states to privatize water systems

Keywords: Privatization, Water

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Organizer and staff member of Partners in Health; APHA member; previous participant of successful APHA panels
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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