December 02, 2024

Water is the best

Nice update

June 03, 2024

AMCOW wants CSOs to support NIgeria's climate action initiatives

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) has called on civil society organisations (CSOs) to rally behind Nigeria in implementing climate action strategies. World Health Assembly recognises climate change as threat to global health World Bank, IMF deepen efforts to scale up climate action. Participants at the CSDevNet a post-COP28 multistakeholder national consultative dialogue in Abuja on Wednesday The call was made by Dr Tanko Azzika, Senior Policy Officer at AMCOW, during a post-COP28 We want solid minerals contribution multistakeholder national consultative dialogue organised by the Climate and Sustainable Development goals Network (CSDevNet) in Abuja on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Representing the Executive Secretary of AMCOW, Dr Rashid Mbaziira, Azzika highlighted the significance of collaboration between CSOs and the government to enhance policy environments for resilient Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services delivery. Arzika noted that AMCOW, established in response to the 2002 Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water, plays a pivotal role in water and sanitation delivery under the African Union (AU). African Energy Chamber confronts Friends of the Earth on group’s anti-fossil fuel position According to him, the council’s vision is to achieve equitable and sustainable use of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, and environmental preservation. Azzika commended the organisers for the timely discussion amid the climate challenges facing the continent.highlighting the role of water, sanitation, and hygiene as both catalysts and solutions to climate change, he emphasised the urgent need to revitalise efforts to combat climate change’s impact on water resources. He said the 2023 report revealed that the continent is off-track in achieving water and sanitation goals due to climate change, prompting the need for accelerated action. He, however, urged stakeholders to strengthen the policy enabling environment for climate-resilient water management, advocating the use of African Sanitation Policy Guidelines (ASPGs).he also called for collaboration to place water at the forefront of the fight against climate change and urged the Nigerian government to prioritise climate-resilient financing. Furthermore, Azzika emphasised the importance of enhancing national-level data systems through regulatory excellence, AMCOW'’s Africa Water and Sanitation sector reporting system (WASSMO). He stressed the need for the support of Climate and Sustainable Development Network (CSDevNet) and Pan & y| Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) in strengthening data reporting systems in Nigeria and other Member States. “AMCOW anticipates an action-oriented outcome document that will expedite continental and global goals on climate-resilient water and sanitation”. Climate change: Group empowers communities for environmental In an opening address, Prof. Ibrahim Choji, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at CSDevNet, emphasised that the historic decision to move away from fossil fuels marks a significant stride forward. He acknowledged the looming threats to livelihoods, ecosystems, and the very essence of existence. ”Yet amidst this daunting reality, COP28 presents a beacon of hope.” Also, Dr Sam Ogallah, Senior Climate Change Advisor at the African Union, highlighted that the African continent possesses more than half of the world’s critical minerals. We'll retrieve forests illegally Ogallah stressed that Africa holds the key to resolving the global climate crisis, urging a shift in the coiperiedio familands gRatsing narrative and a greater appreciation for the continent’s resources. “If we are to transition to renewables, electric vehicles, and other initiatives, where do you propose we obtain the essential minerals? They lie beneath our soil,” Ogallah said. He emphasised the critical role of Africa in the sustainable transformation required to address climate challenges. ‘WHO advocates ban on tobacco use in The dialogue, organised by CSDevNet and PACJA, addresses the outcomes of COP28, focusing on Nigeria accelerating Nigeria’s climate action.

June 03, 2024

African ministers, at AWW-6, seek self-driven water initiatives

Former President and the UNESCO's Special Envoy for Water in Africa, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki addressing the 6th African Water Week conference organized by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission at Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the continent by 2025. These challenges are coming at a time many African countries are mapping pathways towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is against this backdrop that the African water ministers attending the 6™ edition of the Africa Water Week have called for increased self-driven and innovative approach to addressing the water challenges. According to the ministers, the flagship water event on the continent which began on Monday (18 July, 2016) at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, provides the unique opportunity to explore pathways of addressing water challenges. “We need new ideas and self-driven approaches to addressing the issues of water in Africa,” noted Gerson H Lwenge, Tazanian minister of water and irrigation, at the opening of the conference. In a pre-conference statement, African water ministers under the auspices of African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), said there was a range of actions — besides investments into large inter-basin transfer schemes — that could be taken to improve the prospects for quality water supply and quality. The President of AMCOW and Senegalese hydraulic and sanitation minister, Amadou Mansour Faye; the Executive Secretary, Bai Mass Taal; and other high-level speakers at the opening of the conference, emphasised the need to better address issues related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG-6) and other inter-related goals with emphasis on new approaches adapted to the African reality. “The SDGs is all about using local initiatives by both the private sector and the government working together,” Mr Taal noted. “Water resources is vital in realising these goals,” says H.E Mwai Kibaki former President of Kenya and UNESCO Special Envoy on Water in Africa, at the conference plenary. With the theme “Achieving the SDGs on Water Security and Sanitation,” the 6th Africa Water Week (AWW-6) aspires to lay the building blocks for Africa to achieve the SDG-6 as well as other inter-linking SDGs connected with water resources management and improved sanitation service delivery. It also represents the quest in the continent to with impact on the ground. lace emphasis on matching commitments and plans with concrete actions It highlights Africa’s undaunted focus on achieving the Agenda 2063, the continent’s global strategy to optimise use of Africa’s resources for the overall benefit of all. The four sub-themes of the AWW- 6 revolve round achieving universal and equitable access to water and sanitation for all, and ensuring sustainable water resources management and climate resilience. Others are strengthening productive waste water management and improved water quality improving policy, financing and monitoring. Part of the desired outcome for the conference is the adoption of a roadmap for developing a comprehensive action plan for Africa aimed at translating high-level commitments including N’gor Declaration on Water Security and Sanitation into implementation at country, sub-regional and continental levels. The biennial water conference brings over 1,000 participants from governments, regional institutions,international partners, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society and the media from all over the world.

June 03, 2024

Pan-African approach will boost sustainable sanitation policy, implementation, says AMCOW

Executive Secretary, African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), Dr Canisius Kanangire, has advocated for a “Pan-African approach” for the development of a sustainable sanitation policy in the region. Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Secretary, African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) Kanangire said on Friday, June 19, 2020 that access to adequate sanitation was a fundamental human right, rp with a third of African citizens still living without access to adequate sanitation facilities. This, he noted, has a detrimental impact on the health, prospects and quality of life of people all over the continent, adding that by failing to provide such facilities, Africa is neglecting to preserve human dignity. According to him, the creation of an enabling environment within the African Union is a clear goal, allowing the opportunity where some countries will learn from their peers. African Energy Chamber confronts Friends of the Earth on group’s anti-fossil fuel position “In Africa, like elsewhere in the world, there are countries who progress better than others, so a pan-African approach is required to enable us to learn from one another. “Too often, we have seen sanitation pushed aside, not receiving the attention it deserves, At the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), we are seeking to change this. “We believe that we have the responsibility to effectively and efficiently coordinate action between key water and sanitation players, facilitate the strengthening of regional cooperation and development, and build the capacity of relevant institutions and agencies. IPCC to present scientific foundations for seventh assessment cycle at 2024 Kanangire called on regional institutions and sanitation experts from across the continent to work with the Bonn Climate Conference council as they understood their countries’ specific challenges. He noted that, as a continent, Africa was developing quickly, saying urbanisation and rapid population growth can easily leave sanitation trailing behind. “When we speak about the problems surrounding Africa’s sanitation, there are many. In many instances, countries do not know where to begin or how to implement an inclusive national policy. Kanangire recalled that when AMCOW was created in 2002, the mandate was to provide political leadership and policy directions and to carry out advocacy for sustainable development of water resources and sanitation in Africa. He said AMCOW had spent many years working in, and demanding change in, the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, saying the development of the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines (ASPG) was a Climate change: Group empowers communities for environmentalsustainability monumental achievement, and an important step for Africa. “Building effective sanitation policies in a changing environment is a daunting prospect, so the ASPG provides a starting point to be tailored and adjusted by national governments with the support of regional institutions and sanitation experts. “For the policy guidelines to be successful, we must be trusted not only by member states, but also by implementing partners across the continent, and development partners outside. “When I became Executive Secretary of AMCOW in 2016, I made it my personal mission to ensure more ministers discussed water and sanitation openly. “Improving access to safely managed sanitation in Africa does not just call for an increase in collaboration; it demands it, from sanitation experts to regional organisations, all should be involved in this process,”

June 03, 2024

Ministers seek acceleration of water security, access to safety managed sanitation

The Conference was convened virtually by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Union Commission (AUC) and hosted by the Government of Republic of Namibia. It provided a platform to over 3,000 registered participants for dialogue and knowledge exchange to advance the water and sanitation agenda in Africa. On water governance, the statement calls for the strengthening of policy, legal, institutional and regulatory environments by ensuring context specificity; intra- and inter-sectoral coherency. It calls for African Energy Chamber confronts upholding the principles of universal social inclusion and equity. Friends of the Earth on group’s anti-fossil fuel position The statement further enjoins governments to raise the profile of social accountability and transparency. It notes the vitality of recognising women and youth as agents for the planning and implementation of the water, sanitation and hygiene agenda in Africa. The statement notes that it is imperative to develop the requisite human resources capacity especially among the women and youth for sustainable services delivery. On finance, the statement calls on governments and the private sector to significantly increase investments in climate-resilient and inclusive water and sanitation services and infrastructure. The continued support of development banks and partners is cited as a critical enabler. It calls on governments to recommit to both the 2003 PANAFCON commitment of allocating at least 5% of budgets for water and sanitation. It further calls for the e-Thekwini commitment to establish public sector budget allocations of a minimum of 0.5% of GDP for sanitation and hygiene programmes. On water supply, sanitation and hygiene services governments are called to seize the opportunity of heightened awareness of ensuring water availability, and improved sanitation and hygiene services provision. Further, it calls for keeping up the fight against COVID-19, bringing down the over-all disease burden and preventing future pandemics. It is imperative that pandemic preparedness and response NNPC sustains marciiiowards capabilities are strengthened, and the profile of sanitation and hygiene is raised. The statement calls on governments and stakeholders to address the challenges faced in the access of reliable and complete data in the water, sanitation and hygiene. The need to rethink how data on hygiene practices is captured and utilised to inform decision-making and improve sanitation and hygiene programming, and delivery has been emphasised. On water for growth and economic development, governments and partners are encouraged to prioritise water management and services provision as essential ingredients for poverty alleviation and inclusive Climate change: Group empowers development. Further, it calls for the prioritisation of groundwater resources management as a key communities for environmental element of water resources development, utilisation and management. Well-functioning monitoring, assessment and management systems are noted as requisite ingredients to ensure sustainable use of the resources. Ministers also resolved to mobilise groundwater networks, actors and institutions towards a common, harmonised, and evidence-based approach to sustainable groundwater use and management. On water quality and wastewater management, the statement calls for the strengthening of legal, policy and institutional frameworks for the collection and treatment of solid waste and wastewater. This, the statement emphasises, should be to a minimum quality standard before reuse and or safe disposal. The statement calls for standardised regulations for wastewater treatment, environmental flows and water quality management in Africa. Particular reference should be paid to: i) arresting and reversing plastic pollution of surface water bodies; and ii) preventing of groundwater contamination due to unsafe solid waste and wastewater disposal to the environment. On climate change and resilience, the statement calls attention to the recently published UN’s IPCC Assessment Report and the relevant priorities of the Glasgow Climate Pact. These include integrating water ‘WHO advocates ban on tobacco use in Nigeria and climate action through adaptation and resilience planning at national and regional levels. It also involves promoting and financing global water monitoring systems to provide timely information about current and future water availability. A call is also made for a proactive approach to flood and drought management centered around monitoring, forecasting, and early warning vulnerability, impact assessment and preparedness, mitigation, and response. Lastly, this Statement also calls for the prioritisation of investment for monitoring, evaluation, knowledge, information management and learning to consolidate evidence-based and timely decision making at all levels. It further encourages African governments to foster research and application of Govt to enforce compliance of mining firms to environmental standards knowledge and innovations to inform sector interventions targeted at improving water management and sanitation services provision.

June 03, 2024

AMCOW set to celebrate 15th anniversary

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) has announced the convocation of its 15th anniversary celebration. The celebration, which is scheduled to hold from November 27 to 28, 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria will also feature an Executive Council Meeting of African Water Ministers on November 27, and Strategic Dialogue with Development Partners on November 28, 2017. Organised by AMCOW Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Secretary, African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) collaboration with the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission alongside regional and international partners, the 15th anniversary celebration will be hosted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian Ministry of Water Resources. In a statement signed by the AMCOW Executive Secretary, Dr Canisius Kanangire, the 15th anniversary celebration represents “an auspicious moment to showcase leading success stories and achievements conceptualised and facilitated by AMCOW within the ambit of its mandate as the continent’s apex water institution.” “Over the past 15 years of its existence, AMCOW has contributed immensely to the realisation of the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the attainment of African Union’s goals of stronger cooperation, peace and security, poverty eradication and the economic development of Africans and Africa,” Dr Kanangire added. The theme for the 15th anniversary is “Towards Water Security and Safe Sanitation for Africa” and participants from governments, regional institutions, international partners, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society and the media from all over the world are expected to attend. Established since 2002 in Abuja, AMCOW promotes cooperation, security, social and economic development and poverty eradication among member states through the effective management of the continent’s water resources and provision of water supply services. The organisation brings together water and sanitation ministers from Africa’s 55-member states with the unifying purpose of providing political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems. AMCOW currently represents the Working Group on Water and Sanitation of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) under the African Union Commission (AUC).

June 03, 2024

My vision for AMCOW, by new head, Kanangire

Following his nomination and subsequent approval as AMCOW Executive Secretary by African Water Ministers during the last 10th General Assembly of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Dr. Canisius Kanangire has affirmed his readiness to stimulate the dawn of a new era for the African water and sanitation sector. Declaring his agenda on Thursday in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire during the training workshop on web-based monitoring and reporting framework for stakeholders and francophone member-states that coincided with his assumption of duties as the head of the continent’s Dr: Canisius Kanangire, AMCOW Executive Secretary making body on water and sanitation, Dr. Kanangire restated his commitment to “strengthening AMCOW'’s capacity to provide the needed political leadership and direction for the sector as well as reinforce its fiduciary mechanisms to achieve more accountability, transparency and value for money.” The new Executive Secretary believes that strengthening AMCOW in its mission of ensuring the effective African Energy Chamber confronts Friends of the Earth on group’s anti-fossil fuel position and efficient management of the continent’s water resources directly translates to the provision of adequate and equitable access to safe water and sanitation for all. This, according to him, “carries the possibility of making critical contributions to Africa’s progress towards sustainable growth and development and setting us on the on the path to actualising the Africa Water Vision 2025.” Dr. Kanangire who hails from Rwanda is the immediate past Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) Kisumu, Kenya and he brings to AMCOW over two decades of experience in integrated water resources management and transboundary natural resource management. He succeeds Bai Mass Taal, whose tenure ended August 2016. Established since 2002, the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) seeks to promote cooperation, security, social and economic development and poverty eradication among member states through the effective management of the continent’s water resources. As the Specialised Technical Committee for Water and Sanitation of the African Union, AMCOW contributes to Africa’s progress towards sustainable growth and development by providing political leadership in the continent’s efforts at achieving effective and efficient management of water resources through the provision of adequate and equitable access to safe water and sanitation.

June 03, 2024

Water ministers launch monitoring system portal

Global attention at the ongoing World Water Week in Stockholm shifted to Africa on Wednesday as the continent launched its trail-blazing web-based monitoring and reporting framework on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). World Health Assembly recognises climate change as threat to global Touted as one health of the most ambitious attempts at tracking progress on the attainment of the SDGs as they relate to World Bank, IMF deepen efforts to scale up climate action the water and sanitation sector as well as the Africa w Water Vision 2025, Agenda 2063 and other high level commitments, the Pan African Monitoring and Reporting System represents Africa’s readiness to learn from the mistakes in tracking the progress and implementation of the MDGs. Gerson Lwenge, head of the African water ministers Developed by the African Minister Council on Water (AMCOW) with support from the African Water Facility (AWF) and the African Union, the Pan African Monitoring and Reporting System ( highlights the harmonised monitoring and reporting indicators for the whole of Africa while linking with other global monitoring and reporting processes.Tanzanian Water and Irrigation Minister and President of the African Ministers Council on Water, Gerson African Energy Chamber confronts) Lwenge, said: “This launch demonstrates AMCOW’s commitment to aligning both our monitoring and Friends of the Earth on group’s anti-fossil fuel position reporting and various global processes in a way that better targets efficiency, effectiveness and greater impact. That way, we support harmonisation of efforts to monitor Sustainable Development Goal targets and other high-level commitments.” “We are therefore linking the monitoring and reporting processes from Member States to sub-regional, continental and even global levels to reduce the burden and duplication of monitoring efforts at various levels. It is our hope to simplify for all stakeholders, the generation, assessment and dissemination of information on water security and sanitation across the continent of Africa,” Lwenge added. Water Ministers from Benin, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Bonn Climate Conference Senegal, Egypt and Zambia who graced the Stockholm launch hailed the framework as “a timely response to making credible information generation, assessment and dissemination available to all stakeholders on the continent.” Also present at the launch were representatives of AMCOW'’s international development partners including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Water Partnership (GWP), USAID/WALIS, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

June 03, 2024

AfDB lauds AMCOW's water monitoring, reporting system

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has lauded the initiative by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to deploy web-based system to track and report on the implementation of global and regional commitments on water and sanitation in Africa. Mo El Azizi, Director of the Water and Sanitation department of the AfDB who also doubles as director of the African Water Facility Trust Fund, disclosed this on Friday while welcoming the AMCOW Executive Secretary, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, to the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan for the training on the web- based M&E system for stakeholders and Canisius Kanangire member-states from francophone countries in Africa. While restating the bank’s commitment to supporting the continent’s quest to achieve the sustainable development goals ahead of the 2030 target, El Aziz affirmed that “the development of a Web-based Monitoring and Reporting System marks a new milestone in the water and sanitation sector in Africa in ine with the global quest for data revolution and evidence-based policy making.” “We express our readiness to support AMCOW in monitoring and reporting on progress towards achieving not just African commitments, for which efforts to monitor progress towards attainment are constrained by the lack of baseline data, but also the SDGs which provide a great opportunity to establish baselines for both regional and global indicator frameworks,” El Azizi added. Responding, AMCOW'’s Executive Secretary Dr. Canisius Kanangire, acknowledged AfDB’s longstanding commitment to the development of the African water and sanitation sector as evidenced through the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI), the African Water Facility, and several others which go a long a way in increasing access to the clean and safe water on the continent. “With more support and cooperation of the AfDB, we will be able to strengthen the AMCOW secretariat in its mission of providing effective political leadership in the Water and sanitation sector as well as achieving the Africa Water Vision 2025,” Dr. Kanangire said. The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative led by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to mobilise resources to finance water resources development activities in Africa. It is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Over its past decade of operation, the AWF developed a portfolio of grants covering 104 projects in 52 countries including Africa’s most vulnerable states.

June 03, 2024

African ministers adopt Durban Decclaration for accelerating SDGs implementation

Arising from the 2017 World Water Day Celebrations and the Global Launch of the UN World Water Development Report 2017 entitled: “Wastewater: The Untapped Resource” which ended on Sunday, March 26 2017 in Durban, the Republic of South Africa, water and sanitation ministers from across Africa have adopted the Durban Political Declaration for accelerating the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). High Level Ministerial Panel Discussion by the African Minister's Council on Water (AMCOW) at the 2017 World Water Summit in Durban, South Africa The adoption of the political declaration which coincided with the announcement of the “Call for Action” towards the implementation of the SDGs with particular emphasis on Goal-6 (Water and Sanitation) was graced by members of the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW), leaders of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), Inter-sectoral Ministers, UNESCO Special Envoy for Water in Africa, UN Agencies, private sector and civil society leaders. The Durban Political Declaration agreed by all Political leaders mirrors the key principles, pillars and vision of the African Union, AMCOW, and HLPW Action Plan in support of the implementation of the SDGs. The Political Declaration seeks to encourage the acceleration plans and programmes and commit to the rollout of the Action Plan initiative. In this latest declaration which recalled the African Union Heads of State and Government decision on the implementation of the July 2008 Assembly Declaration on the Sharm EI Sheikh Commitments for Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals in Africa; the eThekwini Declaration on Sanitation and its accompanying actions adopted in South Africa in February 2008; as well as the recent Dar Es Salaam Roadmap for Achieving the N’gor Commitments on Water Security and Sanitation in Africa adopted in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania on July 26, 2016, water, sanitation and inter-sectoral ministers from the five Africa sub-regions resolved and committed themselves to supporting and strengthening the implementation of SDG-6 and related goalsThe African Development Bank (AfDB) has lauded the initiative by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to deploy web-based system to track and report on the implementation of global and regional commitments on water and sanitation in Africa. Mo El Azizi, Director of the Water and Sanitation department of the AfDB who also doubles as director of the African Water Facility Trust Fund, disclosed this on Friday while welcoming the AMCOW Executive Secretary, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, to the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan for the training on the web- based M&E system for stakeholders and Canisius Kanangire member-states from francophone countries in Africa. While restating the bank’s commitment to supporting the continent’s quest to achieve the sustainable development goals ahead of the 2030 target, El Aziz affirmed that “the development of a Web-based Monitoring and Reporting System marks a new milestone in the water and sanitation sector in Africa in ine with the global quest for data revolution and evidence-based policy making.” “We express our readiness to support AMCOW in monitoring and reporting on progress towards achieving not just African commitments, for which efforts to monitor progress towards attainment are constrained by the lack of baseline data, but also the SDGs which provide a great opportunity to establish baselines for both regional and global indicator frameworks,” El Azizi added. Responding, AMCOW'’s Executive Secretary Dr. Canisius Kanangire, acknowledged AfDB’s longstanding commitment to the development of the African water and sanitation sector as evidenced through the Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI), the African Water Facility, and several others which go a long a way in increasing access to the clean and safe water on the continent. “With more support and cooperation of the AfDB, we will be able to strengthen the AMCOW secretariat in its mission of providing effective political leadership in the Water and sanitation sector as well as achieving the Africa Water Vision 2025,” Dr. Kanangire said. The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative led by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to mobilise resources to finance water resources development activities in Africa. It is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Over its past decade of operation, the AWF developed a portfolio of grants covering 104 projects in 52 countries including Africa’s most vulnerable states. by ensuring coherence in the implementation of our policies in line with the HLPW Action Plan. The ministers also declared their commitment to supporting and sharing the best Practice Models initiatives championed by regional leaders who serve as members of the High Level Panel on Water, notably Presidents of Senegal, South Africa and Mauritius. This, according to the declaration, is in line with the Africa Water Vision 2025 which envisages “an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation, and the environment”. Recalling the aspirations and commitments espoused in Africa’s Agenda 2063 which envisions the optimal use of Africa’s resources towards ensuring positive socio-economic transformation; the 2004 Sirte Declaration on integrated development of Agriculture and Water in Africa; and the 2008 Tunis Declaration on Accelerating Water Security for Africa’s Socio-Economic Development; the High Level Political Declaration commits African governments to increasing budgetary allocation to match the central role of water security and sanitation in Agenda 2030 and in line with the Sharm El Sheikh declaration. To drive this, the ministers urged the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW, African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with development partners, to convene meetings of Ministers responsible for Water, and Finance to develop and implement appropriate financing policies and models for water and sanitation. The declaration further requests the African Heads of States and Government through the AUC to prioritise Water and Sanitation as essential ingredients to Africa’s Economic Development and Growth. On this note, the ministers advocated the designation of AMCOW as the Technical Advisory Committee within AU Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment to champion the implementation and monitoring of SDG-6 at the political level. African ministers and members of the High Level Panel on Water welcomed AMCOW’s launch of the Pan-African web-based monitoring and reporting system for water and sanitation sector which is linked to the global monitoring processes and called for efforts to strengthen and institutionalise harmonised monitoring and reporting system at member states, sub-regional, and basin levels to report on actions taken to implement these High Level Declarations including Political Declaration commitments.

May 16, 2024

Imperatives of resilient agenda for water security, sufficiency

Inadequate access to water and poor water management practices majorly contribute to Nigeria’s inability to tame water insecurity. While approximately 70 million Nigerians do not have access to safe drinking water, water sources are frequently polluted with hazardous substances. Experts say implementing sound policies, existing trans-boundary water cooperation instruments, especially the Lake Chad and Niger and the UN Water Convention will curb water crisis in the country. In September 2022, excessive water released from the LagdoReservoir (dam) in Cameroon, alongside continuous heavy rainfall, displaced about 1.4 million Nigerians from their homes, while about N700 billion worth of agricultural investments were lost. The woes wrought by this ugly incident every rainy season, still linger in the minds of residents of flood-prone states like Taraba, Nasarawa, Anambra, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, and Adamawa. The floods, which periodically sweep across the banks of River Niger and River Benue down to the Atlantic Ocean in Bayelsa State emanate from the Lagdo Lake. But despite the huge devastation caused by floods and excessive rainfalls, the attainment of water security in Nigeria remains a challenge, asunprecedented water scarcity crises have threatened people, including children who live in areas of high-water vulnerability. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with tow-thirds of the world’s population living in water- stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change. Not long ago, the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) noted the urgent need to strengthen water security in Africa, and called for the adoption of a high-level framework of indicators to enable water security assessment. However, to date, no specific framework for such an assessment has been proposed, and no assessment of water security for African countries is known to have been undertaken. At the same time, water strongly underpins the social and economic development of the continent. Africa’s population, currently around 1.37 billion people, is the fastest growing in the world. Its yearly growth rate currently exceeds 2.4 per cent, and is projected to remain above 2 per cent for the next 20 years. This population constitutes around 17 per cent of the global total, and is projected to reach nearly 40 per cent by 2100. One of the characteristic features of Africa is a chronic lack of access to drinking water and sanitation. Indeed, over half of the 771 million people that lack basic drinking water around the world as at 2020 live in Africa. Again, of the two-thirds of people still lacking basic sanitation services in rural areas around the world, nearly half live in the region. Water quality deterioration is a major threat among communities throughout Africa, and every hour, 115 people on the continent die from diseases linked to improper hygiene, poor sanitation, and contaminated water. Most wastewater generated by domestic, industrial, and mining activities remains untreated, and is released into freshwater bodies. Estimates suggest that only around 16 per cent of wastewater produced in Africa undergoes any type of treatment. Nigeria has many rivers that cover about 10,812,400 hectares, and therefore water security should be assured all things being equal, but the country is sadly burdened with an estimated 30 per cent dysfunctional status of newly provided water supply infrastructure within the first year of provision. As of 2018, access to basic water supply services reached 67.9 per cent with 87.3 per cent for people living in urban areas and 59.7 per cent for those in rural areas, while about 70 million people lack access to improved drinking-water sources, with attendant high prevalence of water-borne diseases, threat to the livelihoods,and low levels of school enrolment, especially among girls. Statistics also show that only about 70 per cent of Nigerians have access to basic water services, and more than half of these water sources are contaminated, while only nine litres of water is averagely available to a Nigerian daily. The figures are particularly worrying, with 26.5 million Nigerian children experiencing high, or extremely high water vulnerability — or 29 per cent of Nigerian children. At the current rate, the country will miss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets on people’s access to water, unless there is a strong commitment and appropriate action taken by all stakeholders. While all can feel the impact of water scarcity, no one suffers more than the most vulnerable children. Children and families living in vulnerable communities face the double-edged sword of coping with high water scarcity levels, while having the lowest water services, making access to sufficient water especially susceptible to climate shocks and extreme events. The Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria, Evelyn Mere, linked issues affecting water security in Nigeria to poor water stewardship by various stakeholders, governments not keeping updated data, enacting and implementing sound policies, over-abstraction, indiscriminate abstraction for commercial and domestic use, as well as, poor waste management, leading to pollution of surface water, poor sanitation that is endangering ground water quality. She told The Guardian that climate change comes with extreme weather conditions, which lead to depleting ground water sources and aquifers. “Communities now must dig deeper boreholes before accessing water. Surface water is also shrinking due to siltation and drought. Higher temperatures are resulting in increases in seawater levels resulting in flooding that pollute water sources and saltwater intrusion. “This reduces the availability of fresh water useful for human use and increases the risk of water insecurity as populations increase and migrations alter population patterns. The demand and competition for water intensifies with communities becoming water stressed.” To ensure water security with the neighbouring countries, Mere said Nigeria must ensure the implementation of existing transboundary water cooperation instruments, especially the Lake Chad and Niger and the UN Water Convention. “This can only be done by fulfilling her obligation and partnership with neighbouring countries to fulfill theirs. Water scarcity linked to climate change, pollution, and rising demands on their use is threatening these water bodies necessitating these partnerships. “In-country, we need to adopt sound integrated water resources management policies and practices. This includes regulations of indiscriminate abstraction of groundwater sources by all stakeholders, protection of surface water sources from pollution and effective monitoring of water related data, inclusion quality climate change impacts.” For Dr Joachim Ezeji, a water resources and ecosystem consultant, and founder of Rural Africa Water Development Project, setting a resilience agenda for water security in Nigeria would require the intentional implementation of water policies, enforcement of relevant laws and adoption of appropriate technology such as machineries, grey and green infrastructure, and other fixed assets. “The use of laws and policies would enable relevant actions across all stakeholder groups, including nurturing and mapping sector expertise, change of attitude, behaviours and conducts. “Ina nutshell, in both Nigeria and across Africa, there is the need strengthen national, local governance and institutional arrangements for effective water security. There is also the need to align and update legal and policy frameworks and provide support to community-based ecosystem restoration. Also, Ezeji told The Guardian that community-based reforestation interventions should be sustained, while diverse and alternative community-based livelihood strategies are established as a mitigate deforestation. We need a diversity of viable community-based enterprises supporting resilient livelihood strategies and climate change adaptation. According to him, the structure and attributes of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, and other water management agencies in the states, including the water utilities needs transformation, adding that “a work in this regard must include a detailed assessment of both. Even without the threat of climate change, there is the ever present need for water security. At least it ensures the graceful use of water. However, the risk of climate change makes water security a development agenda for Nigeria.” Ezeji explained that the majority of territorially contiguous states in the country, and even parts of West and Central Africa, share both renewable, or nonrenewable surface and groundwater aquifers. It is, therefore, recognised that most states depend on rivers and/or aquifers that are shared with neighbouring states or other countriesfor their water supply. “As shared surface water resources are becoming increasingly exhausted, in terms of quantity and/or quality, there is more and more reliance on shared groundwater resources, leading to their over-exploitation. A major challenge is thus confronting the country. Undisputedly, the sustainable management of this challenge is a desideratum.” He stated that there is a significant variation in yearly average discharge, which has been observed since the 1970s in most rivers in West Africa, including the Niger River. Factors responsible for this decrease includes severe drought in the upper reaches of West Africa, water withdrawal and further water loses for evaporation from reservoir surfaces; the construction of the large reservoir of Kaiji (which resulted to a decrease by 20 per cent in the mean water discharge downstream), as well as the construction of a series of reservoirs on its tributaries, especially the Bakolori, Kiri and Pankshin dams on Rivers Sokoto and Kaduna. According to him, the drop in the flow of the large rivers has direct consequences on the replenishment of most dam reservoirs in West Africa. “Built mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, these dams were in general designed according to the prevailing hydrological standards of the previous decades, which were relatively wet. “As at today, these areas have become subject to recurrent rainfall and hydrometric deficits since the beginning of the 1970s. For example, in the deltas of the Niger River, there are a total of 49 medium- and large capacity dams, which are located within four hydrological zones, 35 of which are on the Niger River Basin with a combined reservoir capacity of three million metre squared, and having a direct impact on the Niger Delta, especially reduction in flow and sediment delivered to the coast,” Ezeji added.

October 31, 2023

Finance Ministers meeting seeks $30 billion boost for water and sanitation

Finance ministers from across Africa convened today to deliberate on political and institutional reforms that will help mobilize an additional $30 billion annually for water and sanitation. This is as much about financing as it is about political will, participants heard. The virtual meeting was hosted by Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), UNICEF, and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). It gathered over 50 finance and sector ministers and development partners Funding needs to be at least three times higher in Africa to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal targets. However, this is far less than the - nearly 5% of GDP - lost by sub-Saharan African each year due to inadequate water resources, contaminated water and poor sanitation By mid-century, the economic toll from water-related climate impacts on African nations could reach annually. Every dollar invested in climate-resilient water and sanitation in Africa yields a return of at least $7. Finance ministers discussed several specific approaches that can close the investment gap for water and sanitation: Increasing the national budget allocation for water and sanitation to 5% and 0.5%, respectively. Partnering with development banks to secure long-term finance that aligns with universal water and sanitation access goals. Ensuring that sufficient finance is available for universal access to safely managed sanitation - a key development indicator that significantly reduces the public health burden. Investing in climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructure by tapping into climate finance. Reducing debt and ensuring African nations can access a fair share of Special Drawing Rights. The event organizers urged participants to mobilize political will and view investment in water and sanitation as a means to achieve economic growth, improve public health and reduce inequalities. “Today's meeting serves as a reminder that the challenges in the water and sanitation sector are as much about financing as they are about political priorities,” said Catarina de Albuquerque, CEO of SWA. It's equally vital for governments to prioritize water and sanitation in their budgets and on their policy agendas. We're glad to see so many finance ministers committing to lead the way." Distributed by on behalf of Sanitation and Water for All. About The Africa Finance Ministers’ Meeting The Africa Finance Ministers Meeting gathers ministers of finance from around the region to discuss the political and institutional reforms required to make better use of existing financing. It also seeks to attract additional resources for the water and sanitation sector to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Other regional finance ministers’ meetings will be held in Asia and Latin America in 2024,

October 02, 2023

AMCOW holds talks with ministers on Africa's sanitation, hygiene confab

Executive Secretary, African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) Dr. Rashid Mbaziira (left) and Minister of Water and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev during the visit of AMCOW delegation to his office in Abuja Senior officials of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) secretariat have met new Nigeria's Minister of Water and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, to discuss the future of AMCOW, the preparation towards the seventh AfricaSan Conference coming up in Swakopmund, Namibia next month. They also discussed Africa's efforts toward the development of the post-2025 Africa Water Vision, elements of AMCOW's hosting agreement and other global priorities in the water sector, where the minister can intervene. AMCOW delegation was led by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Rashid Mbaziira. Others are the Director of Programmes, Nelson Gomonda, Knowledge Management, Communications and Visibility Lead, Obinna Anah and Liaison and Corporate Services Lead, Bala Tuham. According to Rashid, Africa's water and sanitation aspirations for the future and the outstanding leadership shown by the past minister, Suleiman Adamu, requires the caliber of person with the wealth of experience like Ustiev as successor. Utsev said the Bola Tinubu administration is focused on sustainable development, "we cannot achieve this successfully without the water sector - for food, agriculture, health and security. In his remark, AMCOW's Communications Lead, Obinna Anah, said that the engagement is strategic for AMCOW and the African water sector, considering the wealth of knowledge that the minister is bringing to the table. The AfricaSan7 conference is organised biennially to promote high-level political prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene issues across Africa. It is convened on the theme: "Strengthening Systems and Partnerships for Accelerated Action on Safely Managed Sanitation and Hygiene.” The overall objective of the AfricaSan7 Conference is to revitalise the pursuit of the targets of the 2008 Ngor Declaration of African ministers responsible for sanitation and hygiene. Among others, the conference objective includes strengthening partnerships and facilitating knowledge exchange for action on delivering safely managed sanitation and hygiene services. The conference is expecting 40 ministers responsible for sanitation and hygiene in Africa, together with senior civil servants, academics, civil society, development partners and the private sector. It will also take stock of the 2023 AfricaSan Ngor report, highlighting member states' advancements in sanitation; Dakar Declarations of the 9th World Water Forum that elevate sanitation's role in national development and UN 2023 Water conference decisions to hasten Sustainable Development Goal on sanitation and hygiene. The AfricaSan7 follows in the tradition of six previous editions of the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene conferences - held on a rotational basis across the five African sub-regions.

March 06, 2022

AMCOW sets the stage for a 20th anniversary celebration at the 9th world water forum in diamniadio, senegal

vhe African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) will celebrate its 20th Anniversary during the gth World Water Forum in Senegals new city, Diamniadio. This year, Africa is hosting the gth World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal. This is only the second time in the 25- year history of the World Water Forum that the event is being held in Africa. Moreover, H E President Macky Sall, who is hosting the Forum, is one of the founding Vice Presidents of the Council of Ministers of AMCOW. As part of the Forum programme, the Republic of Senegal will also be convening a session of the Heads of State and Government to discuss Water and Sanitation issues Against the background of the above, commemorating 20years of AMCOW leverages ongoing processes to refocus AMCOW's ambition in the face of current global trends, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The events will include dialogue and discussion sessions that collectively contribute to strengthening and ensuring the sustainability of AMCOW. The commemorations will also launch activities to formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision towards a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. One significant occasion to expect is the AMCOW @20 celebration on Tuesday, March 22, from 9:00 to 12:15 and a special Luncheon from 12:15, Dakar time. The event will host African Heads of State, Ministers responsible for water and sanitation, and other friends of AMCOW. During the morning session, the Council will honour some of its founding leaders. These include: i. the former President of Nigeria H E Olusegun Obasanjo, whose foresight and benevolence established the AMCOW Secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria; ii. H E President Macky Sall of Senegal, a former AMCOW Vice President who is at the forefront of initiatives to promote water and sanitation issues at continental and global levels. Key among these initiatives is the establishment of a Blue Fund to expand sources of capital for sustainable, climate-resilient WASH infrastructure investment; and, iii. H. E. Mukthar Shehu Shagari who served as the first President of the AMCOW Council of Ministers. The water community will also celebrate working in partnerships with AMCOW's various funding. implementation and technical partners. Highlights of this will include announcements of implementation and funding arrangements for - among others: i. facilitating alignment of Member States’ sanitation and hygiene policy environments with global and continental commitments and international best practice; and, i. translating into action the AMCOW Secretariat Work Programme for the period 2022 - 2024. In a recent consultation, Mr Abdoulaye Sene, the Executive Secretary of the gth World Water Forum Secretariat in Senegal, underscored the significance of AMCOW's activities during the Forum. He said, “AMCOW is unique. It is the only platform on water established by a continent. We need to celebrate this uniqueness and encourage other continents to emulate such initiative. AMCOW, therefore, calls on all its Member States, Ministers, partners, donors, and other stakeholders to participate in the gth World Water Forum and AMCOW @20 celebration About AMCOW In 2002, the African Ministers responsible for water — after critically examining the global water situation and its implication for Africa - adopted the "Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water - a key to Sustainable Development in Africa”. This declaration established the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) AMCOW is thus an intergovernmental institution of the African Union. The vision of AMCOW is an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio- economic development, regional co-operation and the environment. AMCOW has the mandate to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems. AMCOW's organs and structures serve as the Working Group on Water and Sanitation of the Specialised Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) of the African Union. About the gth World Water Forum The World Water Forum, also called the Forum, is organised by the World Water Council in collaboration with a host country every three years. It is the largest water event globally. It mobilises governments, water sector leaders and professionals, development agencies, civil societies, students, youth, the academic and research community and the media for joint action for change in the sector.

December 06, 2020

Shagari asks UN to include knowledge management in next development goals

Nigeria's former Minister in-charge of water resources and sanitation, and the first president of African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) Barrister Mukhtari Shehu Shagari, CFR, has called on the United Nations (UN) to include Knowledge Management in their next development goals after 2030. Speaking during the virtual launch of the AMCOW Knowledge Management platform described as the hub of hubs on November 18, 2020, Barrister Shehu Shagari observed that information management and sharing have become so important in our world today. He recalled the day in April 2002, when himself and 40 other Ministers in-charge of water in Africa gathered in Abuja to establish a learning, knowledge sharing and coordination platform that gave birth to the present AMCOW, He asserted that their vision was to promote cooperation, security, socio-economic development. and poverty eradication through the management of water resources and the provision of water supply and sanitation services. He expressed happiness that AMCOW is now an intergovernmental organization recognized as African Union's Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Water and Sanitation Nile Basin AMCOW-Africa Features According lo AMCOW's Knowledge Management Strategy 2017, the Council recognises thal knowledge is at the core of AMCOW' political leadership, policy direction. and advocacy work. Also, the stralegy highlighls thal Water and sanitation specialists across the continent look Lo AMCOWs ministerial authority to develop recognition and understanding of water and sanitation as a priorily cross-culli development Therefore, Lhe strategy includes knowledge platforms thal demonstrate ils efforts Lo promote uptake and application of research resulls on water and sanilation challenges, and Lo facilitate joint learning among water and sanitation researchers, planners, managers, and users. In addition, the strategy recognises that Africa already has a lot of resources covering several water and sanitation topics. It acknowledges thal using the knowledge hub is a vital strategy Lo pull these resources. together, and make them accessible to sector players. This would help Lo facilitate capacity building for improved service delivery. AMCOW agrees thal preserving the sectors legacy for the younger generation is a necesily. I believes that this dynamic system will continue to evolve to accommodate online courses. sing local expertise and practices, and lo support the use, and reuse of the sector's new knowledge. To butress the importance of the hub, the Exective Secretary of AMCOW, Dr Canisius Kanangire said that the knowledge hub forms part of AMCOWs services to its Member States. He said that it is timely, considering the new working conditions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. He also said that they believe that such a virtual hub is an excellent way to facilitate collaboration and accelerate learning, He posited that the knowledge hub of hubs provides tools to help users enter through one door, and have access to many other rooms to find information and knowledge. Users can also gain access through direct hyperlinks to other hubs or online resource centres he averred. Further he said that the hub presents a rich opportunity to harness and raise the profile of the sectors relevant home-grown knowledge. and provide students, researchers, policymakers, and development partners access to reliable data, information, and learning, These resources he went on will help to improve decisions and offer wisdom to achieve related development goals like the African Water Vision 2025, and the Agenda 2063 . The Centre named after the former Minister as Mukhtari Shehu Shagari Resource Centre comprises a physical library at the AMCOWs Secretarial and an online knowledge hub, This effort is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and partly by the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). Is in response Lo AUs Heads of States, and Governments Sharm l-Sheikh commitment to build institutional and human resources capacity, enhance information and knowledge management, and strengthen monitoring and evaluation for a sustainable and integrated waler resource management. The online platform demonstrates the ability to link and converge other such portals and virtual resource centres into a one-stop centre for accessing water and sanitation information and knowledge. Taking questions during the Question and Answer Session, the Knowledge Management and Information Sharing Officer, Mr. Obinna Richfield Anah, who coordinated the development of the platform as part of his work to implement AMCOWs Knowledge Management Strategy developed in 2017, likened the hub to Facebook where all the local, and foreign organizations working in the water. and sanitation sector in Africa will converge to brainstorm and exchange knowledge on issues affecting the sector ‘The launch witnessed a total attendance of 109 attendees from AMCOW constituencies, Member States, the African Union, UNESCO. SIDA, WSSCC. Sustainable Sanitation Alliance, African Development Bank (ADB) African Union Development Agency, Water Centres of Excellence (CoB), Universities and more. It also got an 85 per cent engagement in questions and comments demonstrating a keen interest in Africans to enhance exchange and access to information and knowledge.

November 08, 2013

African water facility turns waste into commercial fertilizer and energy, improves sanitation services for Ghana's urban poor

African Water Facility Turns Waste into Commercial Fertilizer and Energy, While Improving Sanitation Services for the Urban Poor, in Ghana A waste treatment plant that can produce about 500 tons of fertilizer per year, and can generate about 580,000 kWh per year of electricity from the biogas produced from the process ACCRA, Ghana, November 7, 2013/ — The African Water Center Facility (AWF) signed a €1 million grant in favour of the Ghanaian NGO Training, Research and Networking for Development (TREND) to support an innovative sanitation scheme. The project, which is a tripartite collaboration among TREND, Safi Sana Ghana Limited and the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, is designed to turn waste into bio-fertilizer and energy, whilst providing affordable and sustainable sanitation services for the unsewered urban poor communities of Ashaiman district of Accra. Specifically, the AWF grant will finance the construction of a waste treatment plant that can produce about 500 tons of fertilizer per year, and can generate about 580,000Kwh per year of electricity from the biogas produced from the process. The project will also contribute to improving the hygiene, health and the quality of life of an estimated 125,000 underprivileged urban dwellers by providing them access to new, sanitation services through the expansion of the Ashaiman Municipality's sanitation coverage. “The African Water Facility supports resource recovery projects because it has shown to solve so many problems at once, especially where resources are scarce and access to affordable fertilizers and energy is low," said Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. “While resource recovery systems help minimize environmental pollution, waste converted and sold as fertilizer provides much-needed affordable soil nutrients for farmers and families; and used as biogas, is a safer, cleaner and more affordable source of energy for more economically disadvantaged communities; it's a clear ca ays Circle win-win for the urban poor, the private sector and the environment.” arie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Resident Representative of Bro ANE Dre The African Development Bank in Ghana, underscored the Bank's commitment to promoting innovative interventions and renewable energy in Africa. She invited all stakeholders to support the projects tripartite arrangements to ensure the project's successful implementation, for the realization of project outcomes and potential replication in other municipalities in Ghana and beyond.It is anticipated that the project will contribute to increasing private sector investments in the sanitation sub-sector, and to boosting business and economic development by promoting attractive, replicable business models for improved sanitation service delivery. With the ever-dwindling natural resources and the increasing oil and food prices, thinking innovatively is inevitable, and turning waste to bio-fertilizer and energy is poised to be very profitable business. The project's innovative aspects include: The recovery of energy and nutrients from fecal and organic waste; The establishment of market opportunities for the sale of products derived from waste; The involvement of the private sector in the sanitation business and the generation of income for all operators and their staff part of the service supply chain, from waste collection, to transport, treatment and reuse; The opportunity to demonstrate how Ghana's new energy bill can be implemented through small strategic investment projects with the participation of the private sector and civil society; The promotion of improved sanitation services and hygiene behaviour change. The project was officially launched following the grant- sighing ceremony held in Accra, Ghana, on Thursday, October 31, 2013, which was attended by representatives from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, the AWF, the AfDB, the Energy Commission and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Safi Sana Ghana Limited, and TREND.