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Dr. Richard
Thomas
United
Nations University -
Institute for Water,
Environment and
Health
(UNU-INWEH)
Assistant Director,
Threatened Drylands
Ecosystem Program
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Staying Healthy in
an Unhealthy World:
The Water Dimension
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
11:00 - 11:30 am
Abstract:
T
he
provisioning of safe
water for drinking,
sanitation and
hygiene is a
prerequisite for
global health. Human
development is
closely linked to
disease burdens
especially for young
children whose
energy can be sapped
to fight off
disease. This paper
will explore the
relevance,
importance and
opportunities to
reduce the disease
burden from
‘unsafe’ water.Biography
Richard Thomas is
the Assistant
Director at the
United Nations
University
–Institute for
Water, Environment
and Health based at
McMaster University,
Hamilton, Canada
where he leads the
Drylands Threatened
Ecosystem program.
He was formerly
Director of the
Natural Resources
Management Programme
at the International
Centre for
Agricultural
Research in Dry
Areas (ICARDA) and
was a member of the
CGIAR’s Task Force
on Integrated
Natural Resources
Management. He spent
12 years at the
International Center
for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT)
in Colombia. He is a
graduate of the
University of Wales,
U.K. where he
received his B.Sc.
and Ph.D. in botany
and microbiology.
His broad research
interests include
integrated soil,
water and nutrient
management in
crop-livestock
systems in Latin
America, Africa,
West and Central
Asia. In 2001 his
research team at
CIAT received the
CGIAR’s Excellence
in Science Award for
Outstanding
Partnership.
Education
Ph.D. Microbial
physiology.
University of Wales,
Swansea
Languages:
English and Spanish
