The Africa Regional Forum-Water Dialogue for Results recognized that water, both surface and groundwater remain key to sustainable development of the African continent. The demand for water in Africa is on the increase due to increasing population growth, socio-economic development and large-scale agriculture requirements.
This forum also recognized that groundwater is already widely used in Africa and sustainable groundwater and transboundary water management is essential for Africa regional cooperation, peace and harmonization of legislation, policies and strategies. But there are challenges of inadequate policies, regulations, climate change, increasing population growth, gender and youth, rapid urbanization, operation and maintenance, data and information, coordination, capacity development and inadequate funding.
Noting that the implementation of SDG 6 is inextricably linked to achieving the aspirations of Africa Agenda 2063, the Africa We Want, the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), the Government of South Africa and Senegal and stakeholders of this Africa Water Dialogue for Results forum:
CALL UPON the Heads of States and Governments of the African Union, UN Agencies and Development partners to:
- Prioritise Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at the highest political level and commit human and financial resources and investment to accelerate action towards the implementation of SDG 6 and its targets, especially 6.1 and 6.2.
- Prioritise gender transformative climate resilient water investments and the sustainable use and management of groundwater as part of Covid-19 economic recovery plans and international support programmes for Africa.
- Urges continued cooperation and contribution of Member States to implement the AMCOW Strategy 2018 – 2030, the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme and the Programme for Infrastructure Development (PIDA), ensure that 30% of water and sanitation infrastructure projects from PIDA are allocated to women and youth, in pursuit of job creation and the vision of a water secure Africa.
- Support the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to strengthen the Pan Africa Water and Sanitation Sector Monitoring System (WASSMO) for reporting to the AU on the status of Africa on Water and Sanitation.
- Collaborate with the World Water Council, AUC, AMCOW, AUDA-NEPAD, Government of South Africa and Senegal in collaboration with UN Water, ANEW, GWP and other partners for the organization of the 9th World Water Forum and the African Heads of States and Government summit to secure further commitment for water and sanitation in March 2022; and establish an International High-Level Panel on Water for Africa to accelerate the progress towards SDG 6 as part of the International Decade for Water and Sanitation.
- Urges Development Partners and Donors to commit to providing technical and long-term financial commitments to augment existing resources and to foster local capacity development for SDG 6 implementation and sustainability of outcomes.
- Call upon Civil Society Organizations to work in a coordinated manner to provide the needed capacity and technical assistants to member states to accelerate action on SDG6 implementation.
- Encourages the Private Sector and the Research Institutions to invest in innovative cost-effective research and pro-poor technologies to improve SDG 6 implementation and access for all.
This Call represents a contribution of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and the Governments of the Republic of Senegal and South Africa to the Bonn 2021 Water Dialogues, organized by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), which will feed into the 2023 UN Conference on the Mid-Term Review of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028.
To view this Call to Action as a pdf, click here.