MIHR takes waste pickers’ plight to global stage

Khumbulani Maphosa

MATABELELAND Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) took the plight of waste pickers and slum dwellers to the global arena when it joined hundreds of water and sanitation practitioners from across the world at the All Systems Connect 2023 (ASC2023) Symposium recently held at The Hague, Netherlands.

The event, held in May, focused on water and sanitation through the systems approach.

MIHR was part of the social justice cluster and organisation director Khumbulani Maphosa was in the panel for four sessions, where he presented on the work being done by Bulawayo waste pickers.

BY EMMANUEL MPOFU

MATABELELAND Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) took the plight of waste pickers and slum dwellers to the global arena when it joined hundreds of water and sanitation practitioners from across the world at the All Systems Connect 2023 (ASC2023) Symposium recently held at The Hague, Netherlands.

The event, held in May, focused on water and sanitation through the systems approach.

MIHR was part of the social justice cluster and organisation director Khumbulani Maphosa was in the panel for four sessions, where he presented on the work being done by Bulawayo waste pickers.

Maphosa highlighted the challenges faced by slum dwellers in accessing water and sanitation services.

MIHR recently called for the integration of waste collectors in national and local authority policies and environmental action plans following outcries that they were being left out of national and local policies.

The organisation also demanded the abolishment of archaic refuse removal by-laws which do not recognise the waste collectors’ services.

“The ASC2023 presented a perfect opportunity for MIHR to amplify the voices of marginalised and underrepresented citizens of Zimbabwe on water and sanitation rights,” MIHR said in a statement yesterday.

“Through the symposium, MIHR established contacts for solidarity with like-minded organizations from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mexico, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and the United States, among other areas.”

MIHR currently runs three major projects namely: Voices for Water, the Waste Pickers project and the environmental justice initiative.

MIHR recently called for the integration of waste collectors in national and local authority policies and environmental action plans following outcries that they were being left out of national and local policies.

The organisation also demanded the abolishment of archaic refuse removal by-laws which do not recognise the waste collectors’ services.

“The ASC2023 presented a perfect opportunity for MIHR to amplify the voices of marginalised and underrepresented citizens of Zimbabwe on water and sanitation rights,” MIHR said in a statement yesterday.

“Through the symposium, MIHR established contacts for solidarity with like-minded organizations from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mexico, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and the United States, among other areas.”

MIHR currently runs three major projects namely: Voices for Water, the Waste Pickers project and the environmental justice initiative.

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