ABUJA, Nigeria, November 17, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Government of Namibia will convene a virtual joint 8th Africa Water Week (AWW-8) and 6th AfricaSan Conference from November 22-26, 2021.
The Africa Water and Sanitation Week will provide a platform for dialogue and sharing of knowledge on advancing the water and sanitation agenda in Africa. Participants will also agree on action plans to further the pursuit of the water and sanitation related targets of the SDGs. These will follow from the week-long discussions on opportunities for solutions to overcome sector challenges and make the final push to achieve the Africa Water Vision 2025. The conference will be organized in both English and French.
The Africa Water and Sanitation Week follows in the tradition of 7 previous editions of the Africa Water Week, and 5 AfricaSan Conferences. It will be hosted, albeit virtually, by the Republic of Namibia for and on behalf of the Southern Africa region of the African Union. The conferences are held on a rotational basis in each of the 5 subregions of the African Union on a rotational basis.
The Africa Water and Sanitation Week has two specific objectives, namely:
- to ensure water security in Africa by 2030, and
- to accelerate action to end open defaecation and achieve universal access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030.
Within this context, knowledge sharing and information dissemination during the conference will be organised along two themes and nine sub-themes as follows:
1. Water Security for Public Health and Human Development with the following sub-themes:a. Transboundary water management for cooperation and shared developmentb. Enhancing water security through sustainable management of groundwater resourcesc. Building Africa’s resilience to climate change and related disasters, andd. Addressing water and sanitation sector enablers and drivers: policy, capacity development, knowledge management, financing among others
2. Accelerating Access to Safe Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa at SDGs+5 and Covid-19 era the sub-themes of which are:a. Inclusive policy and strategy for accelerating sanitation and hygiene improvement in Africab. Bridging the human resource gap for sanitation and hygiene in Africac. Fecal Sludge Management, Green Economy and Climate Changed. Improving hygiene in Africa: Building on the momentum of COVID Era hand hygiene, ande. Securing innovative financing for water, sanitation and hygiene in financially challenging times as a cross cutting sub theme.
Representatives of African Union Member States, UN Agencies, Development Partners, the private sector, civil society, community-based organizations and the media are expected to take part in the conference.
To register for the Africa Water and Sanitation Week, click on
http://register.africawatersanitationweek.amcow-online.org/.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of AMCOW.
Notes to Editors
About the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
The African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) is an intergovernmental institution of the African Union. AMCOW’s organs and structures serve as the Working Group on Water and Sanitation of the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) of the African Union.
AMCOW’s mission is to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy on water management and provision of sanitation services. We do this through convening all relevant actors in the pursuit of the Africa Water Vision; the Ngor commitments on water security and sanitation; and the SDGs. The second aspect of our mandate is to mobilise and facilitate concrete action to achieve water and sanitation goals. In essence, streamlining the contribution of the different categories of actors in order to broaden and deepen the impact of our collective action. Thirdly, we broker and network knowledge and information to support evidence-based policy formulation and implementation at all levels. The overarching goal is to ensure that our initiatives are both informed by, and responsive to the real needs of the water and sanitation community in Africa. Application of the available knowledge and information to guide efficient and effective utilisation of sector funding and investment opportunities is a key element of this function.
To arrange interviews please contact
Mrs Maïmouna Tall Ndiaye
AMCOW Communications and Visibility Manager
mtall@amcow-online.org
or +234 816 055 17 21
or +221 77 695 37 93 (WhatsApp)
For more information, visithttps://www.amcow-online.org
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