Call for nominations for the Sarphati Sanitation Award 2013

Call for nominations for the Sarphati Sanitation Award 2013 World Waternet and Aqua for All, supported by NWP and DGIS, are seeking nominations for the Sarphati Sanitation Award 2013. This new, biennial international award will honour the outstanding contribution of an individual or organization to the global sanitation and public health challenge through entrepreneurship. Dr Samuel Sarphati was a general practitioner in Amsterdam in the mid-19th century. Appalled by the bad sanitary conditions in the poorer quarters of the city and understanding the importance of good hygiene, he set up a service to remove human waste from the city and turn it into fertilizer. A true entrepreneur, Dr Sarphati applied the fertilizer to crops on his estate and brought fruit and vegetables back to Amsterdam for the benefit of his patients. His efforts helped to eradicate cholera from Amsterdam before the end of the 19th century.