AfricaSan 3: ministers commit to look first “in our own backyard” for sanitation financing

African ministers have committed to do what they can ‘in our own back yard’ by using local finance for sanitation rather than depend on hand-outs. They were following the advice of President Kagame of Rwanda who opened AfricaSan 3, the Third African Sanitation and Hygiene Conference, which was held in Kigali from 19-21 July 2011. Hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), the conference attracted 900 people from 67 countries, including 23 African Ministers and deputy Ministers [1].

The aim of AfricaSan 3 was to “put Africa back on track to meet the sanitation MDG”. Civil society groups attending the conference said that the high level of participation and engagement shown by African Governments offered cause for optimism. However, much still needs to be done as just four countries in Sub Saharan Africa are currently on-track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for sanitation. The single biggest challenge identified at the conference was funding, as there had been little or no progress towards the agreed target of allocating 0.5% of GDP to sanitation [2].

A major outcome of AfricaSan 3 was that 35 countries were developing national sanitation action plans. They have agreed to hold six monthly reviews of agreed actions over the next 2 years to be reviewed by sector leaders and submitted to the AMCOW AfricaSan Task Force [1].

[1] Read the full AfricaSan 3 Conference Statement

[2] WSSCC / ANEW / WaterAid / End Water Poverty, Africa could turn a corner in the sanitation crisis, WSSCC, 22 Jul 2011

Related news:

• Ghana: only 0.1% of budget committed to sanitation, E-Source, 15 Jul 2011
• Rwanda: country targets 100 per cent sanitation coverage by 2012, E-Source, 10 May 2011

Related web sites:

• AfricaSan 3 – conference presentations
• AMCOW
• Sanitation and Water for All
• Southern Africa knowledge node on sustainable sanitation (SAKNSS)

AfricaSan 3: civil society demands African governments “walk the talk on sanitation”

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are calling on African leaders and international governments to take urgent action on the continent’s critical sanitation situation. The call was issued on the eve of AfricaSan 3, the only Africa-wide conference on sanitation, which is taking place from 19-21 July 2011 in Kigali, Rwanda.

“Despite our collective efforts, since the last AfricaSan 2.1 million children under-five have died of diarrhea caused by poor sanitation, water and hygiene in Africa,” said civil society leader Doreen Wandera Kabasindi from Uganda.

“We are striving to bring an end to these preventable deaths and this huge suffering so we call on our governments to take urgent action.”

In consultation with over 230 African CSOs, INGO WaterAid, Freshwater Action Network (FAN), the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the End Water Poverty campaign, they are demanding that their governments and development partners to:

• Develop clear financial plans to ensure that 0.5% of GDP is spent on sanitation, as per the eThekwini Declaration, and that these funds are targeted to those most in need
• Work together to support the global Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership to ensure high-level coordination of funds, targets and practises.
• Work transparently so their progress can be monitored and assessed, especially in relation to the implementation of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation

Read the full statement