The African Union Heads of State and Government have approved a dedicated framework for tracking progress in mobilising PIDA water investments, providing the political mandate for this work. This decision recognises AUDA NEPAD’s efforts to accelerate the implementation of PIDA transboundary water projects by enhancing mutual accountability among partners. It formally approves the framework for tracking progress in the mobilisation of PIDA water investments. It further directs AUDA NEPAD to continue mobilising and establishing partnerships for PIDA implementation and to report back biannually on gaps and progress in mobilising water investments for PIDA PAP 2, using the AIP PIDA Water Investment Scorecard as a reference.
The 2025 edition introduces the Africa Water Investment Programme Index (AIPI), a composite index assessing countries’ readiness to plan, finance, execute and sustain water investments across four equally weighted pillars. For this first continental baseline, 30 AU Member States submitted data through a coordinated campaign led by AUDA NEPAD, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the AIP Secretariat.
Key Findings
The inaugural continental AIPI assessment places the average water investment readiness score at around 38–40 points out of 100, across the 30 reporting Member States, signalling that important institutional foundations are in place but that change in investment and delivery is still required to meet 2030 targets. Two countries currently fall in the “strong progress” band above 60 points, while the majority cluster between 30 and 50 points, reflecting moderate progress and significant scope for acceleration.
Planning and governance emerge as Africa’s strongest area, with a mean pillar score close to 60 and more than 60 percent of reporting countries having comprehensive or costed national water investment plans aligned with national development and climate frameworks. At the same time, only a small number of countries reach the identified governance “tipping point” score of 7.0, associated with higher investment readiness, underscoring the value of continued support to institutional strengthening.
Investment mobilisation remains the most constrained part of the chain, with an average pillar score in the low 20s and a continental median of approximately USD 44 per capita in annual water sector funding, ranging from about USD 1 in some contexts to nearly USD 600 in others. In this sample, roughly four fifths of countries report inadequate domestic funding and around half rely on external sources for more than 60 percent of sector investments, which can heighten vulnerability to external shocks and shifting global priorities.
Execution performance shows a mean score in the mid-40s, indicating that many countries can convert a significant share of approved budgets into functioning assets, albeit with notable variation across contexts. However, the new impact pillar, with an average score in the high 20s, highlights that these investments have not yet translated into sufficient, sustained improvements in safely managed access, equity and resilience, particularly in countries where per capita investment remains below USD 40.
Correlation analysis offers encouraging entry points for policy dialogue. Countries with stronger planning and enabling environments tend to mobilise more finance and show better execution, and those with higher per capita investment generally achieve stronger impact scores. At the same time, the very weak correlation between execution and impact underlines that closing Africa’s water and sanitation gap will require not only more finance and faster delivery, but also strengthened asset management, operations and maintenance, and inclusive, climate-resilient service models that ensure investments translate into lasting benefits for all.
What Comes Next
Digitalisation and platform integration: The next phase will fully digitise the AIP-PIDA Water Investment Scorecard and embed it in the PIDA web platform as a secure, role-based, multilingual dashboard. This will enable Member States, Regional Economic Communities and partners to visualise AIPI and pillar scores, track trends, and link to other continental systems such as WASSMO.
High-level launch in Addis Ababa: AUDA NEPAD, the AUC, the AIP Secretariat, Global Water Partnership (GWP) and partners will launch the Africa Water Investment Outlook 2025 and the latest Scorecard results on the margins of the 2026 Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, positioning the Scorecard as the African Union’s accountability tool for the USD 30 billion annual target and a platform for concrete commitments.
Continued country support and capacity: Building on the 2025 campaign and the Nairobi capacity building workshop, partners will deepen support for Water Investment Programmes, project preparation and climate finance access, and provide ongoing training for national focal points to improve data quality and embed annual Scorecard cycles.
By pairing stronger governance with scaled finance and a digital, transparent accountability platform, the Scorecard provides a continental roadmap to turn commitments into services that protect health, drive inclusive growth and build climate resilience.