THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged $3 million to the African Water Facility (AWF) to support the preparation of water and sanitation investment projects across Africa. The funding will be used to provide grants and technical assistance to African countries and regional economic communities.
The Afric
an Water Facility, hosted by the African Development Bank and an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is the sole African project preparation facility dedicated to addressing water and sanitation challenges on the continent. Its primary objective is to assist African countries in achieving the targets and goals outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals related to water and the African Water Vision 2025. The facility achieves this through the preparation of innovative water and sanitation projects throughout Africa.
Access to water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa remains inadequate, with about 400 million people lacking basic water supply services and more than 700 million people lacking access to proper sanitation. Furthermore, nearly 200 million people still practice open defecation, and 750 million people have no access to hygiene facilities. Addressing water security and sanitation for all requires significant investments in water supply and sanitation infrastructure, improved water resource governance, and climate-resilient infrastructure design.
Since its inception, the African Water Facility has provided €205 million in grant funding for water and sanitation projects in Af
rica, leveraging over €1.7 billion in downstream investment in the water and sanitation sector.
Dr. Beth Dunford, Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development at the African Development Bank, expressed gratitude for USAID’s funding commitment, saying, ‘This USAID financing affirms growing international support for the African Water Facility as a trusted partner and resource for Africa’s water sector. We thank the United States for the funding commitment that will contribute to scaling up the Facility’s work and positively impacting more people across the continent.’
As part of its 2022-2027 Strategy, USAID aims to provide access to safe drinking water for 22 million people and access to sanitation for another 22 million people over a five-year period.
The African Water Facility is actively mobilising funds to accelerate public and private sector financing for water projects and to promote innovation for improved service delivery in the water sector. The support from USAID comes ahead of the facility’s 2023 funding dialogue in Paris, scheduled for October, where it will engage with donors, beneficiary governments, multilateral organisations, and international institutions to enhance financing for water and sanitation investment projects in Africa.
Mtchera Chirwa, Coordinator for the African Water Facility, highlighted the facility’s role in addressing water challenges in Africa, stating, ‘The negative impacts of inadequate access to water and sanitation and poor management of water resources are seen in many countries in Africa. The African Water Facility exists to accelerate viable, climate-responsive investments by providing grants, technical assistance, and developing catalytic and innovative projects to improve water and sanitation service delivery and water governance in Africa.’
The revised Strategic Plan 2017-2025 of the African Water Facility aims to mobilise resources to increase the delivery of bankable investment projects in water and sanitation across the continent. This effort is expected to provide climate-resilient and safely managed water supply to 2.6 million people and basic sanitation facilities to 2.4 million people.
