Africa Water Week is an annual conference led by the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW).
It represents a political commitment at the highest level and a platform for governments, regional financial and development institutions, international partners, the private sector, civil society, and the media to discuss and collectively seek solutions to Africa's water and sanitation challenges.
The theme of this year's Africa Water Week is 'Implementing the Africa Water Vision and meeting the MDG targets: Challenges and opportunities in water and sanitation', and is divided into the following sub-themes:
1.Financing Investment in Water for Growth and Development
2.Water and Urbanisation
3.Water, Climate and Development
4.Institutional Development and Capacity Building
Throughout the week WaterAid will be contributing to the discussions and thematic sessions, and promote the key civil society messages that were developed in advance.
Mara Van Den Bold, Programme Officer at WaterAid, blogs from the event...
Day 5
3rd Africa Water Week draws to a close
What a week. Africa Water Week has finished, and as we pack our bags to leave Addis I'll give a brief summary of the last days of the week. On Thursday each of the parallel sessions reported back in the plenary with the main key conclusions and recommendations, which will be summarised in the official outcome document of the week. During the closing ceremony various high-level figures shared their views of the week and their objectives for moving forward. A representative from the Youth Forum outlined the importance of the involvement of the youth in the water and sanitation sector in Africa. She emphasised the importance of raising awareness of African youth to contribute to the water and sanitation agenda, building the capacity of African youth to strengthen governance in the sector, and involving them in the implementation of policies on WASH and climate change.
Furthermore, a representative from the African Water Association (AfWA) – the Pan-African network of service providers – stressed that the main obstacle to MDG 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability) is not the lack of financing but the lack of local know how. He stated that AfWA can offer AMCOW its expertise to define policies based on more innovative solutions.
Finally, the new Chair of AMCOW and Minister of Water and Environment of South Africa, Hon. Edna Molewa, stated that building institutional capacity is one of the most important issues in the WASH sector. She called for a stronger AMCOW that can grow its regional presence and play a bigger monitoring and coordinating role on the continent. She stressed that particular attention should be given to issues of urbanisation and climate change and that collaboration with Ministries of Environment in order to deal with adaptation strategies is needed.
As the final outcome document of the week is being deliberated in a closed session, we pack our bags and head to the airport. That outcome document will allow us to see how our contributions have been taken up in final deliberations and we will be sure to post it here once available.
It has been a very busy but productive week, and WaterAid was able to make a significant contribution to the various sessions and side events, particularly those on urbanisation and climate change. We supported the drawing together of the civil society messages at the beginning of the week; contributed significantly in the various sessions, spoken with people about WaterAid’s work; explored new areas for partnership that will allow us to move our work ever more forward in collaboration with local and national governments, development and financial institutions, and civil society organisations across Africa. In the coming months we will be working at country and regional levels towards AfricaSan 2011, which is likely to be the biggest conference held on sanitation in Africa thus far and of course we will be keeping you up to date throughout the duration of that event, which falls within the objectives of the WASH sector in Africa, to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals on water and sanitation are met by 2015.
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Day 4
Parallel sessions wrap up and AfricaSan Awards ceremony takes place
Parallel sessions concluded at the end of Wednesday; the session on Financing Investment in Water for Growth and Development took a particular look at the financing gap in Africa’s water and sanitation infrastructure, concluding that billions are needed to address the continent’s infrastructure gap. Various estimates were quoted with regards to the amount needed to ensure healthy water and sanitation infrastructure in Africa. Alyse Schrecongost of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation estimated that to address the financing gap in water and sanitation infrastructure in Africa approximately 11 billion USD is needed every year. Speaking during the session, Schrenongost stated that there is a critical need for additional water and sanitation financing to meet the financing requirements, reduce costs, improve technologies, and increase revenues. She emphasised that “infrastructure costs required could be reduced as much as 60 percent by focusing on basic, decentralised sanitation systems,” noting that the majority of sanitation infrastructure funding in Africa supports large centralised sewage projects, which often cater to the least vulnerable (AWW3 daily).
Ali Kies, Director of the Water and Sanitation Department, African Development Bank, estimated that Africa requires USD30 billion per year to address the gap. He stated that “neither public funding nor Official Development Assistance will be enough so we need innovative approaches to rise to the challenge ahead.” He also urged countries to develop national plans with clear financing plans.
Furthermore, during a side event convened by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned that the lack of research and building metrological and hydrological data is likely to undermine countries’ efforts to adapt to adverse climate change impacts. Datius Rutashobya of WMO stated that “we need to work towards sensitising policy makers [...] to ensure that they understand the value of [data collection] [...] [Researched data] is a requirement for climate change and hydrological issues for different countries [and] should be readily available at an appropriate time.” – AWW3 daily
Processes also kicked off on Wednesday for the coordination of the 6th World Water Forum (WWF), which will take place in Marseilles, France in 2012. The WWF is the world’s largest water event which is expected to gather stakeholders from within and outside the water sector to discuss water management and access to water supply and sanitation and solicit lasting political commitment. The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) is to coordinate the process for the continent. AMCOW Executive Secretary Bai-Mass Taal expressed confidence in AMCOW’s political leadership in effectively mobilising relevant groups in the period leading up to the WWF and that even though significant financial and capacity support will be needed, Africa should still be able to own the participation process.
Wednesday was also the day of the AfricaSan Awards, awards given to individuals from across Africa for their outstanding achievements in sanitation. Among the various awards given out during the ceremony, there are a few particularly worth mentioning. One was a posthumous award given to Osseynou Diop, the sanitation guru, who was leading the World Bank’s Sanitation Program when he passed away shortly after 2nd Africa Water Week last year, and who was instrumental in the establishment of the AfricaSan awards. Another award was given to Santos, a well-known Mozambican artist who for years has sung about sanitation and water in his home province of Niassa and on the international stage and has worked extensively with WaterAid. Another price went out to an elderly woman from a small town in Southern Ethiopia, who had been the sole driver of making sure both private and public latrines were built in her town, resulting in a significant reduction in open defecation and water and sanitation related diseases. She had never left her village, until Wednesday 24 November when she came to Addis Ababa to receive the award...
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Day 3
Serving the un-served: Do CSOs truly influence reforms to the benefit of the urban poor?
WaterAid facilitated a side event on Tuesday afternoon, the purpose of which was to explore and assess how utilities have piloted and/or mainstreamed pro-poor approaches in their work and the impact that civil society organisations have on influencing reform of utilities towards adopting a more pro-poor approach, as they broker dialogue between governments, utilities undergoing reforms and affected citizens.
To give you an example, a representative from the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) in Uganda spoke about the urban slums in Kampala, in which poor residents often buy water at extraordinarily high prices from private vendors. In 2005, the NWSC started to look at how it could serve the poor, while ensuring an approach that was also financially viable. NWSC subsequently piloted the use of pre-paid meters so that poor urban residents would be able to pay for their water as needed. The pilot drastically improved accessibility and 10,000 households are now served by pre-paid meters. One of the main challenges in implementing this approach has been determining which areas to target, and on the basis of which data, as well as bringing together the various stakeholders involved, and financing the approach while still retaining financial viability of the utility.
WaterAid also made a presentation during the Water, Climate and Development session, showcasing the work that has been done with water point mapping in Malawi and how this data can provide significant information about rainfall, water levels, water quality and demand. This type of data can significantly help governments and hence communities better prepare for disasters and can simultaneously be used as a tool for influencing governance within the sector.
Furthermore, WaterAid Madagascar presented a case study of the importance of incorporating gender into the climate change adaptation, highlighting the impact of gender on WASH governance and sustainable development, which includes increased economic opportunities for women and men, conflict resolution and peace building and promotion of safe health and hygiene practices in a sustainable manner. Without integrating the role of gender WASH services and community development are incomplete and likely to be inequitably accessible or sustainable.
As we run off to another session... please tune in soon for more updates on the thematic sessions and the closing plenary session that saw strong urges on building institutional capacity, development of approaches in the urban context, also in relation to climate change and on the role of the private sector in WASH in Africa.
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Day 2
Parallel thematic sessions at Africa Water Week
Another few busy days have passed, so busy that is has been a little challenging to get this post up every day. Apologies!
Following the opening plenary on Monday, Day 2 of Africa Water Week kicked off with the start of the parallel sessions, organised according to the 4 sub-themes of the week:
- Water and urbanisation
- Water, climate and development
- Institution building and capacity development for implementing the Africa Water Vision 2025
- Financing investments in water for growth and development
The Water and urbanisation theme saw a wide variety of presentations and discussions on issues such as the role of the private sector in improving access to WASH to poor urban residents, integrating informal vendors into regulatory processes, ensuring effective analysis of the impact of urbanisation on ecosystems and related consequences for water supply and quality, examining how urban areas can best plan for potential emergencies, how residents can be prepared, and how government capacity can be strengthened in this area of work. These are just a drop in the ocean of the variety of issues discussed…
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Day 1
On Monday, the 3rd Africa Water Week (held at the UN Economic Commission for Africa) was officially declared open by President Woldegiorgis of Ethiopia, who stressed the importance of promoting cooperation, socio-economic development, security, and the provision of adequate water supply services to the continent. Furthermore, Ethiopian Minister for Water and Energy, Ato Alemayehu Tegenu, stated that:
The main challenges and issues in the water sector are sustainability, capacity and finance. In order to meet the MDGs by 2015, an enormous annual investment is required which could be more than 4 to 5 times current investment rate in the sector ... [Africa] needs a community of dedicated policy makers and donor partnerships to address these challenges.
The Minister also conveyed the message of AMCOW President and South Africa's Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Hon. Edna Molew, who stressed that the focus of the week would be on developing strategic partnerships for accelerating prospects to meet the MDG targets on water and sanitation by 2015. These thoughts were all echoed by Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner of the Department of Rural Economy and Agricultural at the African Union, who added that recognition of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues has grown, but that with impeding challenges such as climate variability it is all the more important for African countries to carry forward the water and sanitation goals and to strengthen the momentum that they have gathered in the sector.
Alongside the opening plenary of the week, WaterAid has been managing an exhibition booth and is co-leading with ANEW several presentations and side events during the next two days on topics ranging from climate change and gender, to civil society participation in urban reform and the right to water and sanitation.
After a very busy day we are looking forward to tomorrow when the thematic sessions will start and the topics will be discussed in much more detail. We hope to keep you posted on a daily basis so please do look out for further updates and photos from us tomorrow!
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Preceeding CSO Forum
Tuesday November 22 2010 – the 3rd Africa Water Week has kicked off!
At last! A chance to let you all know what has been happening here in Addis Ababa. All of us have been running around (frantically yet strategically!) these past few days to attend the CSO Forum, give presentations, organise side events, hold meetings, and attend the various sessions within the four sub-themes of the week. Close to 15 'WaterAiders' are attending the week from the UK and (mostly) from across the continent, including of course our colleagues from the office here in Addis.
So, let me start with Sunday... the excitement actually started off with 35,000 people running past our meeting venue, as part of the Great Ethiopian Run, a 10km run that is held here every year. Personally I think it's a great achievement if you are able to finish the 10th kilometre without collapsing, since the altitude at which Addis lies (2,300 meters) means some serious lack of oxygen and heavy breathing when one walks up just 2 floors (or, maybe that's just me). No wonder that the Ethiopian long-distance runners are such incredible athletes!
After watching the runners, we turned to serious matters: water and sanitation in Africa. How much progress has been made against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water and sanitation on the continent? What challenges remain? What still needs to be done and how can we learn from our experiences on the ground? What is the role of civil society? These were the types of issues discussed during the CSO Forum this past Sunday.
In preparation for this week, over 20 representatives from civil society organisations across Africa came together during the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) Forum, hosted by the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW). The purpose of this meeting was to review the outcomes of the previously held Africa Water Weeks (First Africa Water Week (AWW) held in Tunis, Tunisia in 2008, and 2nd Africa Water Week held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2009), to re-assess civil society's engagement in those Africa-wide discussion and decision making fora, and to harmonise civil society's key messages and recommendations to African governments.
Governments are here represented by AMCOW, the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW). AMCOW is a continental body comprised of the African Ministers in charge of water and sanitation, and is one of the sectoral advisory committees of the African Union (AU), and hence the highest political body in Africa on water and sanitation specifically.
Building on the outcomes of Africa Water Week 1 and 2 (the 2008 Ministerial Tunis Declaration, which led to the AU Summit on water and sanitation in 2008, and the 2009 Ministerial commitment to take forward the Egypt commitments on water and the MDGs on water and sanitation), AMCOW has focused AWW3 on looking at the progress made so far on continental commitments on WASH in Africa, through the lens of the four sub-themes of the week: Water and Urbanisation; Financing Investment in Water for Growth and Development; Water, Climate and Development; and Institutional Development and Capacity Building.
During the CSO Forum, we aimed to discuss and make recommendations under each of these sub-themes, in order to be concise in our messaging. As the result of these discussions a CSO Declaration was produced bringing together civil society's key calls to African governments on WASH.
All of the recommendations made hold equal importance, but what has come out strongly – in addition to the sub-theme recommendations – is the emphasis on water and sanitation as human rights, for the need for these rights to be recognised in national constitutions and realised. Other key issues reflected in the recommendations are on the importance of ensuring data reconciliation, CSO engagement in the lead up to Africa Water Week and other Pan-Africa platforms, efficient management of transboundary water resources and improving the governance of the water, sanitation and hygiene (sector).
The CSO Declaration will be presented to governments on Thursday this week during the AMCOW Executive Committee meeting, and we hope that the recommendations will be taken forward in the official outcome document of 3rd Africa Water Week. Read the 3rd Africa Water Week CSO Declaration ( PDF 145KB)
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The build up...
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target date of 2015 is only five years away, and hence the 3rd Africa Water Week provides a unique occasion for assessing progress made across the continent so far towards achieving the goals and targets set on water and sanitation, as well as examining the challenges that remain.
Building on the momentum of the 2nd Africa Water Week last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, this year's African Water Week will be an opportunity to identify and prioritise areas that need to be improved in order to ensure that equitable access to WASH can make a critical contribution in Africa's progress towards sustainable development.
2009 (2nd) Africa Water Week
Last year, WaterAid contributed its own experience based on its work in Africa, by presenting on WaterAid's experience with Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in West Africa, highlighting the successes in terms of open defecation free communities and the creation of community ownership, but also emphasising the importance of contextualising the approach to respective socio-cultural environments.
WaterAid also contributed to other thematic sessions including those focusing on climate change and financing, and was particularly involved in the official Certification Ceremony of Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) for water, sanitation, and hygiene in Africa, until 2011.
Her Ambassadorship has since gained international support and recognition; the President has been a spokesperson on WASH issues since 2009, particularly on World Water Day in March of this year, and at this year's UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit in New York, alongside other prominent global leaders.
2010 (3rd) Africa Water Week - background
The week has been divided into four sub-themes and WaterAid will be co-leading on a variety of presentations as part of these sessions – in close collaboration with the African Civil Society network on water and sanitation (ANEW) – in particular on the Right to water and sanitation, the role of civil society in urban reform and its collaboration with service providers in select African countries, and the importance of incorporating gender in the climate change discussions.
These are a few examples of the types of subjects WaterAid will be discussing during the week, alongside other major sector stakeholders in Africa.
We started the week with our participation in the Civil Society Forum on Sunday 21 November, hosted by the African Civil Society Network on water and sanitation (ANEW), during which we drafted our key messages for the week. Details on these will follow soon in the next update, so watch this space for more news and photos (see above!)
