NEWS

Climate change is increasing pressure on water resources in Central Africa, disrupting hydrological systems and worsening limited access to safe drinking water. Nearly 60 million people in the region live without direct access to clean water, heightening the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Lake Chad has lost 90% of its surface area since the 1960s, threatening the livelihoods of millions

The Adaptation Fund has approved the full project proposal for the “Integrated Water Resources Management and Early Warning System for Climate Resilience in the Lake Chad Basin”.

Cameroon’s Vision 2025 was set to achieve 75% access to safe water for all. With the country’s new 2020–2030 national development strategy (SND30), authorities have set a higher objective of 100% water access in urban areas and 85% coverage in rural zones by 2030. The National Water Policy provides a strategic plan on how to achieve this.

In a bid to enhance sustainable water resource management and promote the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus approach to promote the achievement of related SDGs, a high-level regional workshop was convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 4th to 6th March 2025.

The Ministry of Development, Energy, and Water Resources, with the support of the GWP-Central African Republic Country Office, organized the national launch of the “National Response Strategy for Resilient Water Resource Management in the Central African Republic.” The significant event, which was held on December 20, 2024, at the Oubangui hotel, brought together some one hundred participants representing ministries, technical and financial partners, NGOs, and members of GWL thematic working groups.

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) expresses deep concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events worldwide, exacerbated by climate change and inadequate water management systems.

This process, initiated by the Cameroon government in 2023, has been supported by several technical and financial partners, including the World Bank, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and GWP Central Africa (GWP-CAf). After nine sessions of the working group set up for this purpose by the Ministry of Water and Energy (MINEE), the latter organized 2 working sessions with all stakeholders in the water sector from March 25 to 27, 2024 and from May 28 to 31, 2024 in Mbankomo, Yaounde.

A multi-stakeholder workshop was held in Bangui on May 30th, 2024, to validate the Central African Republic's climate finance monitoring tool, which was developed under the ongoing GCF Readiness Programme in the country.

The government of the Central African Republic, through the Ministry of Energy and Resources Development in collaboration with GWP CAR, organized a round table with key technical and financial partners in Bangui to brainstorm on resource mobilization for the implementation of the National Response Strategy for the Resilient Management of Water Resources in the Central African Republic.

Chad is the first African country to join the Water Convention in 2018. Aware that a large part of its water resources is shared, its accession to this convention will enable the country to better manage the resource in a concerted manner which adequately meets the growing needs of the population in a context where water security is increasingly threatened by climate change.