Lima 2013 Blog: René Cornejo, Minister of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation of Peru

By
Luisa Leme

Minister Cornejo talked about the main challenges for the country to ensure access to water and sanitation to all.

Speaker:

  • René Cornejo, Minister of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation of Peru

At AS/COA's Latin American Cities Conference in Lima, Minister Cornejo talked about the main challenges for the country to ensure access to water and sanitation to all.

Cornejo's presentation gave the size of the problem: "only one in five citizens has access to a sewage system in rural areas," for example. And Lima—the largest city in the country—is growing while dealing with limited water sources. Water scarcity may affect up to 18 million Peruvians living on the Pacific coast.

The minister also spoke about the government's policies to tackle the problem and the need for a focus on public health. 

Watch the remarks (en español):