Latest news with #WASH
Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Action Against Hunger and French Water Partnership Amplify Global Call for Survival and Resilient Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) at UN 2026 Water Conference Preparatory Session
NEW YORK, July 16, 2025 /3BL/ - At the United Nations 2026 Water Conference Preparatory Meeting, Action Against Hunger joined forces with the French Water Partnership to represent the WASH Road Map and the Global WASH Cluster in launching the 2025 Call to Action for Survival and Resilient WASH, a bold and urgent appeal to prioritize humanitarian water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. The call to action is endorsed by over 230 humanitarian and development actors and four national governments. Across the globe, nearly 175 million people require humanitarian assistance for WASH. In 2024, the needs were met for only 48 million people—just a quarter of those who need this lifesaving aid—due to chronic underfunding, political interference, and security risks undermining the safety of both the people in need and humanitarian personnel. In her address during a high-level Multi-Stakeholder Interactive Session, Marie-Laure Vercambre, General Director of the French Water Partnership, emphasized the gravity of the situation: 'In 2025, of the $3.2 billion needed, only $146 million has been secured [as of April 2025]—barely 4.5 percent. This situation jeopardizes the lives and dignity of millions of people in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Yet, water is not optional—it is a human right and a lifesaving asset.' The call to action urges Member States and all actors to: Nicolas Villeminot, Senior WASH Advisor at Action Against Hunger, highlighted the strong backing of the Slovenian and Swiss delegations, whose support underscores the growing international momentum behind humanitarian WASH. Both delegations are vocal supporters of a stronger inclusion of the specific needs of humanitarian WASH as part of the UN Water Conference. Nicolas Villeminot stated, 'Our coalition extends an invitation to the two co-chairs of the Conference, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, to join us next month at the Stockholm World Water Week to sign the pledge of the Humanitarian WASH Roadmap, and to make sure that humanitarian needs strongly appear in the interactive dialogue on Water for People.' The Global WASH Cluster also issued a campaign encouraging stakeholders to endorse the Call to Action and amplify its reach. 'This is not just a policy commitment—it's a collective movement,' the Global WASH Cluster emphasized. As preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference continue, Action Against Hunger remains committed to ensuring that humanitarian WASH is not only recognized but embedded in global water governance frameworks. Together with our partners, we are turning this crisis into an opportunity—to save lives and build a more resilient future. Building on the 2023 UN Water Conference—the first high-level conference in nearly half a century to focus on the water crisis—the 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the UAE, will aim to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. During the Preparatory Meeting of July 9th, the Member States formally adopted by consensus the six Interactive Dialogue themes that will frame the 2026 UN Water Conference: The need for action over commitments was emphasized by many Member States and civil society representatives throughout the day to accelerate SDG 6, which is one of the most off-track SDGs. As highlighted in an address from the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Water, Her Excellency Retno L. P. Marsudi, the conference must be 'the time to transform the moment for SDG 6 into movement. Moment to movement.' She added that 'Globally, water-related disasters have contributed to 95% of infrastructure loss and damages, and in 2024 alone, it costed as much as $550 billion in economic loss.' Action Against Hunger echoes the European Union's statement advocating for the establishment of thematic civil society working groups aligned with the six interactive dialogue topics, to enable meaningful and substantive stakeholder contributions as part of a truly inclusive and consultative process.
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Northleaf and AVALT Announce Acquisition of WASH
Article content TORONTO & BOSTON — Northleaf Capital Partners ('Northleaf'), a global private markets investment firm, announced that funds managed by the firm, alongside AVALT, a Boston-based investment firm, have signed definitive agreements to acquire WASH Multifamily Holdings Inc ('WASH' or the 'Company'), a leading North American route-based laundry infrastructure services company, from EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 upon receipt of customary regulatory approvals. Article content Jim Gimeson, Chief Executive Officer at WASH, said, 'We are incredibly excited to welcome our new sponsors as strategic partners in WASH's next chapter of growth. At WASH, our relentless focus on customer service, alongside continued investment in technology, has positioned us as a trusted partner to property owners across North America. This partnership marks a significant step towards deepening the value we deliver to our loyal customers and associates.' Article content Jared Waldron, Co-Head of Infrastructure at Northleaf, said, 'We are delighted to add WASH to our infrastructure portfolio given its durable business model that has exhibited resilience through multiple market cycles including COVID-19. WASH offers an essential service with historically low correlation to the broader economy, strong inflation protection, and an attractive free cash flow generation profile.' Paul Gill, Director, Infrastructure at Northleaf, added, 'WASH is highly aligned with our strategy of investing in businesses with strong downside protection and attractive opportunities for value creation.' Article content Marko Kivisto, Partner and Co-Founder of AVALT, said, 'WASH's industry-leading growth, customer satisfaction, and retention are a testament to the Company's commitment to high quality service. We're thrilled to partner with the WASH team and Northleaf to support the Company's end customers, property managers, and employees for many years to come.' Chirag Malkani, Vice President at AVALT, added, 'We are excited to continue to invest behind service and digitization to accelerate WASH's success and growth.' Article content BofA Securities served as lead financial advisor to WASH and Rothschild & Co also served as financial advisor. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal advisor to WASH. TD Securities served as financial advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. TD Securities also provided committed debt financing for the transaction. Article content About WASH Article content WASH was established in 1947 and is today one of North America's leading providers of route-based laundry services. WASH provides essential common room laundry services to multifamily apartments and universities under long-term contracts. WASH operates through 34 branch locations in the United States and Canada to provide industry leading customer service to an installed base of over 660,000 installed machines across 80,000 locations and the more than 4.5 million people who do their laundry in a WASH laundry room every week. WASH is headquartered in Torrance, CA, and has approximately 1,300 employees. For more information, please visit Article content About Northleaf Article content Northleaf Capital Partners is a global private markets investment firm with more than US$28 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments raised to date from public, corporate and multi-employer pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and family offices. Northleaf's 275-person team is located in Toronto, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Seoul and Tokyo. Northleaf sources, evaluates and manages private markets investments, with a focus on mid-market companies and assets. For more information, please visit Article content About AVALT Article content AVALT is a private investment firm that invests its permanent capital base in leading businesses with meaningful growth and transformation opportunities. The team's deep business building experience helps companies accelerate their growth, and its flexible capital base enables ongoing support without regard to any fixed time horizon. Target industries include Commercial & Industrial Services and Professional & Technology Services, and investments are typically backed with $50-$100M+ of equity capital. For more information, please visit Article content This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a general solicitation, offer or invitation in any Northleaf-managed funds in the United States or in any other jurisdiction and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. All information is as at the date of this publication and has not been updated since. Article content Article content Article content Article content Media Contacts: Article content WASH Cathy Jackson Vice President, Marketing t: +1.310.953.5517 e: cathyj@ Article content Northleaf Prosek Partners e: Pro-northleaf@ Article content AVALT
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Northleaf and AVALT Announce Acquisition of WASH
TORONTO & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northleaf Capital Partners ('Northleaf'), a global private markets investment firm, announced that funds managed by the firm, alongside AVALT, a Boston-based investment firm, have signed definitive agreements to acquire WASH Multifamily Holdings Inc ('WASH' or the 'Company'), a leading North American route-based laundry infrastructure services company, from EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 upon receipt of customary regulatory approvals. Jim Gimeson, Chief Executive Officer at WASH, said, 'We are incredibly excited to welcome our new sponsors as strategic partners in WASH's next chapter of growth. At WASH, our relentless focus on customer service, alongside continued investment in technology, has positioned us as a trusted partner to property owners across North America. This partnership marks a significant step towards deepening the value we deliver to our loyal customers and associates.' Jared Waldron, Co-Head of Infrastructure at Northleaf, said, 'We are delighted to add WASH to our infrastructure portfolio given its durable business model that has exhibited resilience through multiple market cycles including COVID-19. WASH offers an essential service with historically low correlation to the broader economy, strong inflation protection, and an attractive free cash flow generation profile.' Paul Gill, Director, Infrastructure at Northleaf, added, 'WASH is highly aligned with our strategy of investing in businesses with strong downside protection and attractive opportunities for value creation.' Marko Kivisto, Partner and Co-Founder of AVALT, said, 'WASH's industry-leading growth, customer satisfaction, and retention are a testament to the Company's commitment to high quality service. We're thrilled to partner with the WASH team and Northleaf to support the Company's end customers, property managers, and employees for many years to come.' Chirag Malkani, Vice President at AVALT, added, 'We are excited to continue to invest behind service and digitization to accelerate WASH's success and growth.' BofA Securities served as lead financial advisor to WASH and Rothschild & Co also served as financial advisor. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal advisor to WASH. TD Securities served as financial advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to Northleaf and AVALT. TD Securities also provided committed debt financing for the transaction. About WASH WASH was established in 1947 and is today one of North America's leading providers of route-based laundry services. WASH provides essential common room laundry services to multifamily apartments and universities under long-term contracts. WASH operates through 34 branch locations in the United States and Canada to provide industry leading customer service to an installed base of over 660,000 installed machines across 80,000 locations and the more than 4.5 million people who do their laundry in a WASH laundry room every week. WASH is headquartered in Torrance, CA, and has approximately 1,300 employees. For more information, please visit About Northleaf Northleaf Capital Partners is a global private markets investment firm with more than US$28 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments raised to date from public, corporate and multi-employer pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and family offices. Northleaf's 275-person team is located in Toronto, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Seoul and Tokyo. Northleaf sources, evaluates and manages private markets investments, with a focus on mid-market companies and assets. For more information, please visit About AVALT AVALT is a private investment firm that invests its permanent capital base in leading businesses with meaningful growth and transformation opportunities. The team's deep business building experience helps companies accelerate their growth, and its flexible capital base enables ongoing support without regard to any fixed time horizon. Target industries include Commercial & Industrial Services and Professional & Technology Services, and investments are typically backed with $50-$100M+ of equity capital. For more information, please visit This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a general solicitation, offer or invitation in any Northleaf-managed funds in the United States or in any other jurisdiction and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. All information is as at the date of this publication and has not been updated since.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) Reports Next Week: What Awaits?
The market expects Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) to deliver flat earnings compared to the year-ago quarter on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 21, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. This holding company for The Washington Trust Co. is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to be $53.92 million, up 11.8% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Washington Trust, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -10.64%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Washington Trust will beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Washington Trust would post earnings of $0.62 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.61, delivering a surprise of -1.61%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Washington Trust doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Citizens Financial Group (CFG), another stock in the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry, is expected to report earnings per share of $0.88 for the quarter ended June 2025. This estimate points to a year-over-year change of +12.8%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $2.01 billion, up 2.2% from the year-ago quarter. Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Citizens Financial Group has been revised 0.1% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +1.55%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate. This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggests that Citizens Financial Group will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (WASH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Girls strip searched in Thane schools to check periods. This is not the way you teach them hygiene
A shocking incident has been reported at a school in Thane, Maharashtra, where girls spoke up about being strip-searched by some members of the staff to ascertain if they were menstruating when blood stains were found in a toilet. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated instance. Similar instances have been reported in the not-so-distant past from elsewhere in the country as well. These deplorable incidents are instructive about how gender-based violence (GBV) is deployed in multiple forms within and by various institutions. It is shameful that schools, which should ideally be safe spaces and a refuge from inequalities that young girls otherwise experience in their lives, turn out to be sites of severely traumatic experiences. Thankfully, parents of the aggrieved girls were steadfast in protest, believing their daughters over the denial of the school administration. It is heartening to witness that these girls did not remain silent, evidently drew strength from each other and went on to confide in their parents, who, in turn, supported them and rightly demanded accountability from the school. It shows that normalising public discussions about GBV and mass mobilisations such as the one that followed the recent RG Kar Medical College case, for example, have a positive ripple effect in the condemnation, reportage and redressal of instances of GBV. One hopes that the law enforcement agencies will take swift and commensurate action against the accused in this case. While it is difficult to set anger aside, if one were to attempt to view this incident from the perspective of the school administration, it may be argued that it is important to teach children about cleanliness and hygiene. However, that is a lesson to be taught using reason and compassion, trusting them as responsible agents and extending care as they navigate puberty and adolescence. There are ample policy guidelines available for educational institutions to undertake this exercise. Apart from guidelines by international bodies such as UNICEF and the WHO, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, issued revised 'SOP for Sustaining Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WASH) – Including Guidelines for Swachhata Action Plan under Samagra Shiksha' in 2021. Section 2.3 directs schools towards 'institutionalising a system for student's safety, hygiene and health', including sensitisation and training of teachers and support staff. Section 3.5 lays down directives for 'menstrual hygiene management' with a focus on knowledge that dispels notions of menstrual blood as 'dirty, unhygienic or unclean'. Most importantly, it clearly states the need for the educational institutions to educate and enable girls 'to privately manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity'. The Thane incident is in gross violation of these tenets. It is also shocking that the accused school administrators used photographs of toilets deemed 'unclean' due to menstrual blood and projected them in a hall where the young girls were herded in — making a mockery of technological tools that should serve education, not intimidation. The importance of dignity in this context cannot be overstated. Segregating adolescent girls, shaming them through a strip search, and seeking to punish them through public humiliation — including reportedly taking fingerprints of menstruating students to match with a blood-stained print on a toilet wall — are not just invasive, but deeply dehumanising. These actions reflect a gross abuse of authority and serve to entrench gender-based hierarchies. At a time when there are multi-pronged ways in which taboos around menstruation and the shame associated with it are being challenged and rightful claims to accommodate menstruation-related concerns in educational and occupational spaces are gathering steam, incidents like this serve as a reminder of the long road ahead. It hasn't been long since one of the survivors of gruesome sexual violence, the Frenchwoman Gisèle Pelicot, made the moving call that 'shame must change sides'. However, structural issues around GBV are so entrenched that time and again, patriarchal mindset and regressive norms put the burden of shame on women and girls. GBV is experienced in myriad forms – from physical violence to discrimination to everyday microaggressions. What remains at the heart of it, however, is the intention of putting someone in 'their place' within patriarchy and at the intersection of other social hierarchies such as race, caste, religion, etc. India's daughters deserve better. The Constitution guarantees them fundamental rights against discrimination, of equality, of education and a life of dignity. The celebrations of a Viksit Bharat in 2047 would be vacuous if the bare minimum of safety and dignity within educational institutions remains elusive for women. The writer is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad. Views are personal
