On 28th June 2022, The Global Water Leadership Program in a Changing Climate Program (GWL) was officially launched in Uganda by the Global Water Partnership Uganda (GWP-U), a country level multi- stakeholder network of Global Water Partnership partners operating in Uganda, working towards improving governance and the sustainable use and management of water resources through integrated Resources Management Approach.
The 4-year Program, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Organization from the UK Government is being implemented by Global Water Partnership, UNICEF, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment of Uganda and other development partners. The focus of the program is to implement inclusive, climate resilient water policies and strategies in low and middle-income countries, of which Uganda is among. It is being implemented through a strategic collaboration between GWP, UNICEF, SWA, JMP and WHO
While launching the program, Mr. Sowed Sewagudde, who represented the Minister of Water and Environment of Uganda, recognized the critical roles that Non-Governmental Organizations, (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and academia play towards achieving the Government of Uganda’s mandate of ensuring sound management and sustainable utilization of water and environment resources for sustainable benefit of the population and socio-economic development which is in line with GWPEA’s priorities for sustainable development. “We acknowledge that we cannot achieve this vision on our own as government and this is why we seek productive partnerships with development partners, private sector and non-governmental organizations to realize our goal”, he said in his speech.
The objective of the GWL programme is to strengthen leadership and collaboration in water resources and WASH governance at national and global levels, in addition to supporting the enabling environment for resilient and sustainable WASH services. The programme will utilize data and analyze the status of water resources management and WASH services to strengthen systems and the enabling environment and to support the development of a coherent climate rationale for the water and WASH sectors. The programme will also support the water and WASH sectors to identify opportunities for large scale climate financing for climate resilient water and sanitation services and water resources management.