Netindian – India, Canada to partner in efforts to reduce waterborne diseases
India and Canada have joined forces to reduce water-related diseases and improve water quality through a new $ 3 million (CDN0 research partnership.
More than three million children worldwide die from these diseases each year, and almost half are from India. In Canada, more than five million people do not have access to a reliable source of clean drinking water.
IC-IMPACTS, the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence, and the Government of India, through its Department of Biotechnology, have each committed $1.5 million to the new Water for Health partnership, apress release from the Canadian High Commission said here today.
According to it, Water for Health will focus on improving monitoring and management of waterborne diseases, wastewater treatment and impacts on water quality, water purification biotechnologies, biosensors for heavy metals identification, and sustainable wastewater infrastructure and management.
“We are excited and thankful for the opportunity to launch this collaboration,” said Nemy Banthia, CEO and Scientific Director of IC-IMPACTS and a professor in the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC. “We hope that the program will lead to technological breakthroughs that will bring safe drinking water to millions.”
Hosted at the University of British Columbia and in partnership with the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto, IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) is a multi-sector, pan-Canadian centre established through the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence.
It brings together a large international team of researchers, industry innovators, community leaders,government agencies, and community organizations from India and Canada, to find solutions to the key challenges that affect the quality of life of millions of people in Indian and Canadian communities.
NNN
