Stockholm, Sweden (22 March 2016) – Professor Joan Rose of the USA was today named the 2016 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for her tireless contributions to global public health: assessing risks to human health in water and creating guidelines and tools for decision-makers and communities to improve global health.
Rose lives in Michigan where she holds the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University.
She has dedicated her professional life to water quality and public health safety, and is a leading world authority on water microbiology.
On receiving news about the prize, Professor Rose said: “I feel humbled. I am very honoured to be part of a list of such distinguished past winners. The Prize calls attention to the most important issues around water in the 21st century, and for me, that is water quality.”
In her citation, The Stockholm Water Prize Nominating Committee says that “The nexus of water-related microbiology, water quality and public health is rife with uncertainty – in both theory and practice.
“ The world is blessed with few individuals who can tackle the increasing and changing challenges to clean water and health, starting from state-of-the-art science through dedicated and original research, then moving to professional dissemination, effective lobbying of the legislative arena, influencing practitioners, and raising the general awareness. Joan Rose is the leading example of this extremely rare blend of talents’’, the organisers said of her.
Rose said she has always been motivated by the principles of public health, how to prevent disease.
“ A key barrier, our water infrastructure, is crumbling or non-existing in many parts of the world. The global population unserved by sewage treatment is counted in the billions” says Professor Rose.
“I have always been motivated by the principles of public health, how to prevent disease. A key barrier, our water infrastructure, is crumbling or non-existing in many parts of the world. The global population unserved by sewage treatment is counted in the billions,’’ she added.
It is estimated that around 1000 children under five die every day-from diarrhoeal diseases, one of the leading causes of child mortality and only one of the illnesses caused by poor water quality.
There are still more than two billion people in the world who lack adequate sanitation, and over one billion lack access to safe drinking water. WHO says that overall, 842 000 deaths from diarrhoeal diseases each year could be prevented by improved water, sanitation and hygiene.
“We need to develop a global water curriculum to educate the next generation of problem solvers. The need is enormous,” adds Professor Rose.
“Professor Rose embarked long ago on a quest for securing the health of all human beings. But she did not stop at that. She expanded it to ensure that water also supports health in the aquatic ecosystems. Professor Rose has continued to show dedicated leadership in making the world a better place for both humans and other species that share the planet,” says SIWI’s Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.
Joan Rose is widely regarded as the world’s foremost authority on the microorganism Cryptosporidium.
