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Robert Bos, b. 1953, d. present, considered environmental health world leader

Summary

Robert Bos (Amsterdam 1 February 1953) is a Dutch/Swiss public health biologist who completed a 32-year international career (1981-2013) with the World Health Organization (WHO). Most recently he completed his tenure as Chair of the Supervisory Board of IRC/WASH, the International Water and Sanitation Centre in The Hague, Netherlands. Since his retirement from WHO he provides strategic advice to International Organisations and governments and is member of various leading International Networks and Events. He has lived in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, since 1983 and obtained Swiss citizenship in 2017.

Early life

Bos was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in the night of 1 February 1953, at 00:45. The night of 1 February 1953 was an auspicious night as a north-westerly gale combined with spring tide caused the largest flood disaster of the 20th century in the Netherlands. Referred to simply as “de ramp” (“the disaster”) 1836 people lost their lives that 1 February. In western Astrology he was born under the sign Aquarius, while according to the Chinese zodiac he is a Water-Dragon. Taking all this together, it is not surprising that water continued to play a key role in his life.

Education and Training

Bos went to the Berlage Lyceum in Amsterdam in 1965 and obtained his Gymnasium B diploma in 1971. In September 1971 he enrolled in the Biology programme of the University of Amsterdam in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. After the first year he specialized in Medical Biology (a new stream in 1972). He graduated from the University of Amsterdam cum laude on 14 February 1979 as “doctorandus” (MSc) on the subjects parasitology, medical entomology and immunology of malaria. From January 1979 until March 1980 he took part in an international training course “Basic and clinical immunology” at the Central Laboratory for the Blood Transfusion Service in Amsterdam. Bos obtained an international MSc in Basic and Clinical Immunology from the University of Amsterdam on successfully completing the course.

International Career

On 1 February 1981 Bos started his international career with the World Health Organization (WHO) as Associate Expert, assigned to the WHO/PAHO Office in San José, Costa Rica. He was based at the Instituto Costarricense para Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud (INCIENSA) in Tres Ríos, where he worked under the technical supervision of Dr Rodrigo Zeledón. His remit was to support immunology capacity strengthening in the country. After 2.5 years, he transferred to WHO headquarters in Geneva, Division of Vector Biology and Control (VBC). He joined the Secretariat of the Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control (PEEM) and in 1985 he was promoted to the position of scientist/Executive Secretary of PEEM in a WHO regular budget post. With the disestablishment of the VBC Division in 1990, he moved to WHO’s Environmental Health Programme. A seminal 1987 workshop “Human Vector-borne Disease control in rice agro-ecosystems” at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, the Philippines, led to his 5-month secondment to IRRI from November 1991 to March 1992. Over the years he also worked with other institutions of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). He oversaw the development and implementation of a consortium research project at the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA, then in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, now: Africa Rice in Benin) (“The association between malaria and schistosomiasis, and rice production systems across the ecozones of West Africa”) in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali between 1992 and 1997. He worked with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI, formerly IIMI) in Colombo, Sri Lanka to strengthen their water and health programme and he collaborated with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington DC to develop their Agriculture, Health and Nutrition programme (2006-2015).

He also worked on:


 * Training courses on Health Impact Assessment (HIA) with the aim to develop the skills of mid-level managers in different relevant ministries to engage in an intersectoral dialogue to carry out HIA, irrespective of their sectoral affiliation.
 * HIA capacity development programmes in the Mekong countries (by WHO 2003-2008, by ADB 2015-2018).
 * Nam Theun 2 dam (Lao PDR) rapid Health Impact Assessment where his efforts led to a Presidential Decree making HIA for larger development projects obligatory.
 * WHO Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Greywater and Excreta in Agriculture and Aquaculture 2006 and field trials of the guidelines in Ghana, Senegal, and Jordan.

In 1998 Bos joined the WHO delegation for the negotiations on an international, legally binding instrument to reduce and eliminate the use of Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee met five times between 1998 and 2001, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants entered into force in 2004. Bos’ role in the team focused on the use of DDT for malaria control. In 2009 he became Coordinator of WHO’s Water, Sanitation and Health programme and was ultimately responsible for:


 * WHO’s normative functions with respect to water and sanitation
 * WHO/UNICEF Monitoring Programme (JMP) for drinking water and sanitation,
 * Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS), and
 * a number of WHO hosted networks.

In preparation for the post-2015 (post MDG) period he organized two international consultations on the development of new goals, targets and indicators (Berlin, 2011, The Hague 2012) and put the recently acknowledged human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation on the map for what would be the Sustainable Development Goal s framework. On 28 February 2013 Bos retired from the World Health Organization.

On 4 March 2013 Bos joined the International Water Association (IWA) as a part-time Senior Advisor focusing on:

 IWA Manual on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for Practitioners ( 2016).

 IWA Lisbon Charter (2014).

 “An avoidable Crisis” on human resources needs in the drinking water supply and sanitation service sector.

In March 2013 Bos joined the Supervisory Board of IRC/WASH, the International Water and Sanitation Centre in The Hague and he was the Board’s Chair from 2018 to 2023. He was succeeded by Wambui Gichuri from Kenya, former Vice-President of the African Development Bank.

Other activities

 Member of the Programme Committee - Water Convention - Singapore International Water Week (2008 – present).

 Member of the Scientific Programme Committee - World Water Week (Stockholm) (2008 – 2017).

 Contributor to the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 IWA World Water Congres ses and Exhibitions,and the 2013, 2015 and 2017 IWA Water and Development Congresses and Exhibitions.

Over the decade 2013-2023 he has carried out numerous technical advisory consultancies, including for the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Ban k, various specialized agencies of the United Nations, and several governments.

Honours

Honorary Doctorate in Science (University of West-London) (28 July 2022).

Professional Memberships

Bos is a member of three professional associations:

 American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) – life member since 1985

 International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) - member since 2000

 International Water Association (IWA) - member since 2013