Africa: AMCOW gets US$ 2 million Gates grant to build national sanitation capacities

The African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has been awarded a US$ 2 million grant [1] from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help countries build capacities for sanitation policy development, monitoring and advocacy.

AMCOW will use the 3-year grant for:

• technical guidance and training to four fragile counties to develop and adopt national sanitation and hygiene policies and plans
• organising the 4th AfricaSan conference and awards to boost implementation of the AfricaSan Action Plan and eThekwini ministerial commitments [2]
• country support in using the African mechanism for water and sanitation monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

“Across the globe, about 2.6 billion do not have access to safe sanitation. Africa accounts for almost 40 percent of these figures.” said Bai Mass Taal, AMCOW Executive Secretary.

AMCOW is an initiative of African Ministers responsible for water and a Specialized Technical Committee on water and sanitation for the African Union.

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched [3] its Reinvent the Toilet initiative at AfricaSan 3 in Kigali, Rwanda.

[1] Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Oct 2012

[2] WSP, 2008. The eThekwini declaration and AfricaSan action plan. Nairobi, Kenya: Water and Sanitation Program – African Region.
Available at: <www.wsp.org/UserFiles/file/eThekwiniAfricaSan.pdf>

[3] Reinventing the toilet: Gates Foundation launches new sanitation strategy and grants, Sanitation Updates, 19 Jul 2011

Source: AMCOW, 18 Dec 2012

Africa: UN-Water survey shows improved government performance in water resource management

A new study covering 40 African countries shows that they are making good progress with integrated approaches to water resources management.

Over 75 per cent of the member countries of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) are implementing national water laws and nearly half (44 per cent) are executing national plans for integrated water resources management in line with the Africa Water Vision for 2025 according to a new study [1]. The study is based on global survey co-ordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of UN-Water, which will be released at Rio+20. [2]

The report found that 18 of the 40 countries polled have integrated water resource management (IWRM) plans under implementation. A similar study conducted in 2008 found that 5 countries, out of the 16 that responded to the survey, had IWRM plans or were in the process of developing them.

While several countries reported that improved water resources management has direct social and economic benefits, the report asserts that better documentation and indicators could increase government commitment and financing for water.

Improved coordination, institutional capacity and financing are needed to ensure food and energy security, as well as access to safe drinking water and sanitation to a growing population. The report warns that climate change will increase flooding, droughts and pollution, which are the greatest physical threats to Africa’s water resources.

[1] McMullen, C. (ed.), 2012. 2012 Status report on the application of integrated approaches to water resources management in Africa. Abuja: African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). viii, 88 p. : 20 boxes, 53 fig., 4 tab. Available at: <http://bit.ly/KcwqMb>. Accessed 15 May 2012

[2] UN-Water, 04 May 2012

Related web sites:

• African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
• UN-Water @ Rio+10
• EU Water Initiative (EUWI) – Africa Working Group (AWG)

Source: AMCOW, 14 May 2012

4th Africa Water Week, 14-18 May 2012, Cairo, Egypt

Marking the 10th anniversary of the formation of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), the 4th Africa Water Week will celebrate AMCOW’s achievements and reflect on opportunities for achieving water security and adequate sanitation in Africa. Over 1,000 participants are expected.

Organised by: African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission (AUC)

Hosted by: Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt (MWRI)

Main theme: “Water for Growth in Africa, AMCOW’s Journey @10”

Sub-themes / Lead Conveners:

• Water and Sanitation for Development / USAID – Further Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (FABRI)
• Infrastructure for Growth and Climate Resilience Development / UN Water Africa, UNECA-African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) & African Union Commission (AUC)
• Private Sector Investment in Sanitation and Water / African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Water Governance and Financing / Global Water Partnership (GWP), African Development Bank (AfDB), EU Water Initiative – Africa Working Group (EUWI AWG)

Programme:

• 14 May – AMCOW General Assembly
• 15 May – AMCOW @ 10 celebrations
• 16-18 May – Technical Sessions on sub-themes (see above)

Under the sub-theme “Water and Sanitation for Development”, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA) will co-convene a session on “Monitoring For Action: Improving WASH Sector Performance and Sustainable Service Delivery” (17 May).

For more information visit: www.africawaterweek.com

Africa: political stability and country leadership key to water and sanitation progress

Political stability has heavily influenced progress in improving access to water supply and sanitation services with low-income stable countries outperforming low-income fragile and resource-rich countries.  ”This breaks with the common perception that access to sanitation and water increases with GDP”, says Senior Financial Specialist Dominick de Waal, lead author of a new report [1] by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

The report, commissioned by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW),  maps progress  in water supply and sanitation of 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. WSP carried out the country studies together with the African Development Bank in close partnership with UNICEF, WHO, and the 32 governments.

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)

3rd Africa Water Week, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 22-26 November 2010

Organised by: African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)

Theme: Africa’s Water and Sanitation Challenges and Opportunities to implement the Africa Water Vision and the MDGs.

Registration fee: € 100

To contact the organisers and for more information go to the AMCOW web site

Gambia: water supply, sanitation report validated

The Department of Water Resources, with funding from the African Development Bank (ADB) has prepared an assessment report on water supply and sanitation sectors of The Gambia. It identied successes and challenges in delivering sanitation and water supply services. The report is part of a continent-wide assessment requested by the African Ministerial Conference on Water (AMCOW).

At a validation workshop on the report, the Minister of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, Lamin Kabba Bajo, disclosed that The Gambia is on track in meeting the MDGs target for water supply, with 85% to 95% urban coverage and 81% rural coverage, based on data from 2006. Despite the achievements in the country’s water and sanitation sectors, Minister Bajo said the sub-sectors continue to be faced with a number of challenges that would require the formulation of [a new] strategy and the establishment of a coordination mechanism.

Collins Annoh, a representative of African Development Bank (ADB), told the gathering that since the 1980s, the bank has provided finance amounting to about 37 million Euros to The Gambia to support development and improvements in the water and sanitation sectors. “The Gambia Country Status Overview (CSO), for which this meeting is being organised seeks to capture among other things, current data on recent sector developments and efforts towards achieving national or MDG targets by 2015,” he said.

Source: Amadou Jallow, Daily Observer / allAfrica.com, 10 Jun 2010

AMCOW AfricaSan Awards 2009 Winners

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) has named winners of Africa’s premier awards for exemplary achievements in sanitation and hygiene.

The AMCOW AfricaSan top honor for Leadership has been awarded to His Royal Highness Chief Macha, a traditional and community leader from Zambia who has used his status in a uniquely proactive manner to advocate for improved sanitation, not just in his Kingdom of Tonga which has now attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, but also in the wider district and province with a multitude of stakeholders (see related blog post).

Prof. Albert M. Wright (left). Photo: IISD

AMCOW AfricaSan awarded a Lifetime Achievement honor to Professor Albert Wright, who for more than four decades has made significant contributions to strategic development of water, sanitation and hygiene at global, African and national levels. He has been teacher, researcher, innovator, investment adviser, policy advisor and inspiration and mentor to an entire generation of the African water and sanitation community.

The AMCOW AfricaSan honor to an NGO/Civil Society Institution has been awarded to the Ethiopia Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Movement, a multi‐stakeholder coalition that has been exceptionally successful in promoting behavioural change on water, sanitation and hygiene, and increase the political and social commitment for progress in these areas.

Dr. Peter Morgan at the NETSSAF Conference, 2008. Photo: EcoSanRes

The AMCOW AfricaSan honor for Technical Innovation was awarded to Dr Peter Morgan, a Zimbabwean national, who for four decades has provided Africa with the most innovative technical ideas in sanitation and hygiene directly affecting poor people.

A special commendation was made to His Royal Highness Prince Willem‐Alexander for his global leadership role in advancing the cause of improved sanitation and hygiene.

AMCOW also announced the following awards:

• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Runner up) for Leadership to WES Sudan.
• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Finalist) for Leadership to The Daily Mail (Zambia).
• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Runner up) for Technical Innovation to the Centre Régional pour l’Eau Potable et l’Assainissement à faible coût (CREPA).
• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Finalist) for Technical Innovation to the Office National de l’Assainissement du Sénégal (ONAS).
• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Runner up) for NGO/Civil Society to Water for People (Malawi).
• The AMCOW AfricaSan Award (Runner up) for NGO/Civil Society to Africa Media Aid (Ghana).

AMCOW is the driving force behind the AfricaSan movement, a regional initiative that seeks to place sanitation and hygiene at the top of the development agenda in Africa. In 2008, the Africa Union Heads of State Summit mandated AMCOW to co‐ordinate implementation and monitoring of the eThekwini Declaration – which seeks to assist African countries to accelerate the achievement of national and global targets on water, sanitation and hygiene.

The AMCOW AfricaSan Awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding efforts and achievements in sanitation and hygiene in Africa which result in large‐scale, sustainable behavior changes and tangible impacts.

The 2009 Awards are the first in a series of honors for achievements in three categories:

• The Leadership Award honors individuals or institutions for strong leadership to sanitation and/or hygiene improvement through policy and strategy development, advocacy, institutional arrangements, financing, coordination and capacity development.
• The Technical Innovation Award honors individual and institutional contributions to the improvement of technical solutions for sanitation services and products to make them affordable, reliable, and sustainable.
• The NGO/Civil Society Award honors individual and institutional support to and mobilization of communities for the improvement of their sanitation and hygienic conditions.

Other categories will be honored in 2010.

The awards are administered by AMCOW, in collaboration with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNICEF, the UN Secretary‐General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), UN‐Water Africa, WaterAid and the Africa Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW).

Read more: DWAF, 09 Nov 2009

Africa: G8 water and sanitation initiative lacks concrete action

The launch of the G8-Africa Water Partnership promised to be a centrepiece of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila but it contained no specific actions and no extra finance, the End Water Poverty campaign said. “A G8 progress report outlining actions on water since the launch of the G8 Evian Water Plan in 2003 shows that the bulk of reported funding increases have gone to Iraq and other regions of political and economic interest rather those of greatest need”.

The official statement, released on 10 July 2009, explained that the Partnership between the G8 and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), under the leadership of the African Union (AU), would “continue working, on the basis of commitments previously undertaken, which include: make water-related MDGs a top development priority; implement national water and sanitation plans; implement financial plans for mobilizing resources to the sector, including allocating resources within national budgets; enhance their leading role in guiding development assistance through donor coordination processes and the definition of water and sanitation investment plans in line with the Paris declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action”.

“To support the implementation of the African commitments, G8 countries will: assist the building of capacity in African countries to develop and implement national water and sanitation plans; improve coordination within multi-donor platforms to promote aid effectiveness; align assistance to better reflect national priorities; improve bilateral and multilateral contributions to financial mechanisms aimed at mobilizing investment; assist the AU Commission, AMCOW and Regional Economic Communities in response to the African demands for institutional support”.

A “strengthened Africa-G8 Partnership on Water and Sanitation” would be presented by the end of 2009. “The Africa Water Week due to take place in November [2009] in South Africa might provide an opportunity for tangible progress towards our common goal of meeting our water and sanitation challenges”.

AMCOW meeting on “Carrying forward the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration and Commitments on Water and Sanitation”

The Executive Committee of the African Ministers’ Council Water (AMCOW) met from 24-28 November 2008 at the UN Office in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme “Carrying forward the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration and Commitments on Water and Sanitation (adopted by the African Union Summit, Egypt, June 2008).”

[...]

Recommendations were adopted on:

• the elements of the plan of action for the implementation of the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration and commitments on water and sanitation;
• the proposed Pan-African mechanism for the monitoring and evaluation of progress in the water and sanitation sector at the country, sub-regional and regional levels;
• the implementation and coordination of commitments relating to water [and sanitation];
• the proposals by the Kenyan government for the hosting arrangements of the 2nd Second Africa Water Week [proposed date March 2010];
• AMCOW’s strategy for strengthening the AMCOW/G8 partnership; AMCOW’s strategy for the high level conference on water for agriculture and energy;
• Africa’s road map for the World Water Forum;
• the strategy and road map for the implementation of the eThikweni Declaration;
• the road map for accelerating the implementation of the decisions of the sixth session of AMCOW;
• measures for the restructuring of the AMCOW Executive Committee, strengthening AMCOW’s sub-regional presence and bringing into full operation the secretariat of AMCOW located in Abuja, Nigeria;
• the chairmanship of the African Ground Water Commission and related arrangements; and
• the outcomes of the ninth meeting of the Governing Council of the African Water Facility [read the AWF Resources Mobilisation Update here].

Read the full Summary of recommendations of the meeting

Source: IISD Linkages – Executive Committee and Technical Advisory Committee of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)

The dais at the opening session of the Executive Committee. Photo IISD