USAID mobilizes youth to raise awareness on water security

MANILA, Philippines – Millennials have been tagged, most of the time unfairly, as the hypersensitive, overly self-centered, extremely impatient, and deeply apathetic generation who only care about how they look in the eyes of an exceptionally judgmental society.

Sure there are those who are more concerned about how they appear in the social sphere, but there are still many who care enough to do something about pressing issues of society.

As a matter of fact, millennials, says USAID Philippines mission director Dr. Susan Brems, will be mobilized to raise awareness on national issues such as water security.

In an interview with The STAR, Dr. Brems noted the possible contributions of the youth to inform and educate others on the importance of water in the country.

“Here [in the Philippines], you have youth who can be change agents. Youth can be change agents to older people who have accustomed ways of thinking and acting that are sometimes hard to change. The challenge to the youth is to educate and to have good services and training so that others can learn from them as well,” she said.

She went on to note the commitment and dedication of Filipinos when it comes to issues that are important to them.

“The Philippines has highly intelligent, very committed, and very experienced people, and they contribute a lot [to development],” she added.

Dr. Brems stressed the importance of water in many sectors, such as health, education, governance, and environment.

“Water is related to everything. In health, you have water that is helping in the transmission of bacterial diseases, viral diseases, and parasitic diseases. You can’t have a hospital that can function that doesn’t have water, where basic needs can be met, where health service providers can’t wash their hands. Water is so critical not only to preventing disease or carrying disease if you don’t have the proper care, but also in the actual functioning of health system,” she emphasized.

Dr. Brems also noted that many countries have addressed the issue of water in education by setting up sanitation facilities, especially for women entering their reproductive age.

USAID participated in the recent WaterLinks Forum, which discussed the importance of creating climate-resilient water facilities in Asia. They sent four campus journalists from Iloilo to be part of the two-day forum.