WASHINGTON, D.C. /CitizenWire/ — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will announce a new U.S. Water Partnership (USWP) in Washington D.C. on Thursday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m. The USWP is a public-private partnership formed to share U.S. knowledge, leverage and mobilize resources, and facilitate cross-sector partnerships to find solutions to global water accessibility challenges, especially in the developing world.
The USWP will answer some of the challenges outlined in the Global Water Security Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which will be released on the same day with an announcement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Secretary Clinton will be joined by Representative Earl Blumenauer; Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Maria Otero; International Boundary and Water Commission U.S Commissioner Edward Drusina; National Aeronautics and Space Administration Deputy Administrator Lori Garver; U.S. Agency for International Development Global Water Coordinator Christian Holmes; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy; U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne Castle.
They will be joined by additional representatives of USWP members, including Africare, the Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble, the Nature Conservancy, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Motor Company, Skoll Global Threats Fund, the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, World Resources Institute, Global Environment & Technology Foundation, Global Water Challenge, and Clean Water America Alliance.
Following Secretary Clinton’s remarks and the introduction of the USWP members, USAID will conduct a panel discussion, including Q&A from the audience, titled “Maximizing Impact by Integrating Water into Development Assistance.” This panel will be chaired by Christian Holmes, and will include members of the USAID team with expertise in the role of water in agriculture, health, climate change, and conflict.