African Water Facility

📍Launch of Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation Projects in .

Yesterday in Niamey, the African Water Facility and Government of Niger officially launched two projects: Project to Support Drinking Water and Sanitation Services Resilient to Climate Change In Niamey and Tillaberi; and Project to Support Resilient Drinking Water and Sanitation Services in Rural Areas in Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabéri and Zinder Regions.

These initiatives aim to strengthen access to safe drinking water and sanitation while building climate resilience in urban and rural communities to benefit 1,500,000 people, 52% of whom are women.

The launch was led by Mr. Firmin Bri, African Development Bank Group's Country Manager, and Colonel Maïzama Abdoulaye, Niger’s Minister of Environment, Hydraulics and Sanitation. Attendees included government officials and development partners such as development finance institutions, international NGOs, civil society, and national bodies.

The African Development Bank Group and the African Water Facility joined leaders at the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit, held alongside the G20 meetings in South Africa, to reaffirm their commitment to transforming Africa’s water sector.

Speaking on behalf of the Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks, Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Director for Water Development and Sanitation, underscored the central role of water in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Africa’s Agenda 2063, and the continent’s Post-2025 Water Vision. MDBs have collectively committed an average of USD 10–12 billion annually to Africa’s water sector in recent years and will continue to scale up financing, partnerships, and technical support to close the USD 30 billion annual investment gap.

The Bank emphasised the importance of climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructure, enhanced governance, and innovation to deliver safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for all Africans, while supporting water-dependent sectors such as agriculture and energy. On behalf of the MDBs, it also welcomed the South Africa G20 Presidential Legacy Initiative, "the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments", as a platform to elevate water as a political and economic priority globally.

African Development Bank Group's Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus Initiative promotes an integrated approach to planning and investing across water, energy and food sectors. It recognizes the need to move beyond siloed investments and adopt integrated cross-sector strategies that encourage collaboration, manage trade-offs, and improve resilience across the interconnected systems.

African ministers, representatives from regional organisations and development partners are gathered in Dakar, Senegal and online to discuss the investment framework and implementation approach under the initiative.

Join the ongoing conversation: https://afdb.zoom.us/meeting/register/LrjkrdRgRTGtpL2ii2KnEw #/registration

The African Water Facility is seeking an individual consultant to provide communications services.

The consultant will support the Facility's Secretariat, and contribute to broader communications efforts within the African Development Bank’s Water Development and Sanitation Department.

👉 Find out more and apply: https://www.africanwaterfacility.org/en/news/hiring-individual-communications-specialist

💡Strong partnerships, innovative financing, and leadership remain key to closing Africa’s sanitation gap.

At the 2025 Kenya Water and Sanitation International Conference and Exhibition in Mombasa, the African Development Bank Group, African Water Facility and partners co-organised the session, "Utility Partnerships for Resilient and Sustainable Sanitation Provision."

This session explored how utilities can partner with small and medium enterprises, international non-governmental organizations, researchers, consultants, and funders to deliver sustainable sanitation amid climate, policy, and governance challenges.

Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Bank Director for Water Development and Sanitation called the audience to action: “Building stronger partnerships is not optional, it is essential. The African Development Bank stands as a close and trusted partner to water service providers. Partnership is at the core of everything we do.”

During the panel, the African Water Facility's Debjyoty Mukherjee shared insights on how the Facility:

💧Supports project preparation and financing for utilities
💧Addresses urban sanitation through the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative
💧Scales innovative business models via small and medium enterprises

💰Did you know? African Water Facility projects have generated €2 billion in downstream investments.

The session was an interactive dialogue with utility boards, government agencies, and partners to identify successful partnership strategies and new opportunities.

Development partners have expressed strong backing for the African Water Facility and its essential role in closing the project preparation gap across Africa’s water and sanitation sector.

They reaffirmed support for the Facility as an African instrument for African priorities, helping countries prepare investment-ready projects and attract the investments needed to deliver sustainable water and sanitation solutions.

Read about it: https://www.africanwaterfacility.org/en/presse/development-partners-support-african-water-facilitys-efforts-prepare-water-and-sanitation

: The African Water Facility shared its vision with African ministers for water and sanitation, civil society organisations, private sector representatives, and other participants at PANAFCON3.

Showcasing its achievements over a 20-year period, the Facility also engaged in discussions on the process for developing its new strategy for 2026–2030.

💡Did you know? Since 2006, the Facility has provided €205 million in grants for 148 projects, benefiting an estimated 42 million people through improved access to water and sanitation services.

The Facility is carrying out consultations with a diverse range of people to inform its upcoming strategy and ensure that it is practical and aligned with the evolving needs for water resources across the continent. Participate in the consultations by emailing [email protected]

Private sector participation in Africa’s water and sanitation sector remains minimal at just 0.2% compared to 6–12% in sectors like energy and transport. So how do we bring in more private investment, increase innovation, and build resilient water and sanitation systems?

At , the African Development Bank Group led a dialogue on increasing private sector involvement in the water sector, tackling institutional and regulatory gaps, and promoting coordinated action to fast-track water security and sanitation access across Africa.

Speakers emphasised the critical role of governments in creating investment-friendly conditions through regulation, land rights, and tax incentives. Private sector leaders called for better risk-sharing frameworks and a shift from competition to partnership.

Traditional financing sources are no longer sufficient. Strengthening governance, regulatory frameworks, and institutional capacity through sector reforms will be key to bringing in private sector investments.

SNAPSHOTS from the African Development Bank Group's Ministerial Session at in Zambia.

At , the African Development Bank Group engaged in a high-level dialogue with African Ministers responsible for water and sanitation, addressing key challenges and exploring solutions to close the continent’s access gap.

The Bank shared tailored initiatives, including the "Sustainable Water-Energy-Food Nexus", designed to help regional member countries manage these interconnected resources more efficiently. Another highlight was the "Sustainable African Water Utilities Transformation and Viability Enhancement" initiative, which aims to support water and sanitation utilities in becoming financially and operationally viable.

Insights from this dialogue will directly inform the development of the Bank’s Water Supply and Sanitation Action Plan (2026–2030) and the African Water Facility Strategy for the same period.

: As Africa prepares to define a new water vision and policy, following the upcoming close of the Africa Water Vision 2025, the African Development Bank Group is leading high-level dialogues with stakeholders at the Third Implementation and Partnership Conference on Water (PANAFCON-3) in Lusaka, Zambia.

This process comes at a critical moment. Despite growing needs, Africa’s water sector remains severely underfunded, attracting only 0.5% of GDP in investment, while Sub-Saharan Africa alone needs over 4% to meet SDG 6 targets on water and sanitation.

To meet the evolving demands for water and sanitation across the continent and mobilise more investments, the Bank is working closely with the African Union and the AMCOW -African Ministers Council on Water to engage ministers, partners, private sector leaders, and civil society.

At the same time, the Bank is developing a Water Supply and Sanitation Strategic Action Plan for 2026–2030, alongside the African Water Facility’s new strategy for the same period. Insights from PANAFCON-3 and these wide-ranging consultations will shape the priorities of both strategic documents.

If you're attending PANAFCON-3, be sure to join the Bank’s sessions and connect with the team for bilateral discussions on tailored solutions for universal access to water and sanitation in Africa.

Photo credit: AMCOW

: At the African Water Facility’s side event during the African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings, high-level stakeholders underscored the urgent need for bankable water and sanitation projects to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mohamed El Azizi, Director General for North Africa at the Bank Group, opened the event by emphasizing that “the (water) sector can only make progress with bankable projects,” highlighting the African Water Facility’s role in a shifting development aid landscape.

HE Bouaké Fofana, Minister of Water and Sanitation for Côte d’Ivoire, stressed the importance of infrastructure, governance, and human capital, and called for increased investment. “AWF is an African instrument for African priorities,” he said, urging African governments to provide political, institutional, and financial support. He also shared Côte d’Ivoire’s integrated national water and sanitation strategy and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the Facility.

Further discussions focused on the need to scale both public and private investment. The Facility's team showcased the Facility’s impact, funding requirements, and project pipeline, while panelists emphasized the importance of country-led project preparation, early planning, and climate risk integration to unlock financing opportunities.

Partners from Austria, Tunisia, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the private sector highlighted the African Water Facility’s value in turning ideas into action and called for stronger collaboration to scale its impact.

The event reaffirmed African Water Facility’s role as a strategic, African-owned driver of sustainable water and sanitation investment across the continent.