Africa needs public, private partnerships for water, sanitation

Ochekpe, who is also the Interim President of African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), said the adoption of the inaugural report on the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments was important for accelerating the achievement of water and sanitation goals in Africa by African Union Summit in Addis. AMCOW is tasked with developing an implementation […]

Ochekpe, who is also the Interim President of African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), said the adoption of the inaugural report on the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments was important for accelerating the achievement of water and sanitation goals in Africa by African Union Summit in Addis.
AMCOW is tasked with developing an implementation strategy and reporting mechanism for the AU Heads of State and Government and to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems.
Ochekpe said efforts at improving basic sanitation in Africa are so far inadequate and poor sanitary conditions remains a major hazard to the health and productivity of the African population.
Increased public and private investment in the water sector becomes critical to implement necessary actions for improving performance, particularly in water resources management, to fully unleash the productivity of such sectors as agriculture, energy, industry and fisheries and release Africa’s development potentials, she added.
Ochekpe said AMCOW welcomes the summit’s call for an enabling environment for accelerating the use of available water sectors funds at the African Development Bank in order to further close the financing gap in the sector.
She observed that the critical need to continuously monitor and report on the ongoing efforts in the sector toward achieving the MDG targets on water and sanitation and the 2025 Africa Water Vision vindicated AMCOW’s decision to endorse the call for a distinct water goal in the post-2015 global development agenda.
“We need to consider a post-2015 global development goal for a water-secured world with commitments to achieve universal access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene in Africa by 2030 as well as increasing the harvest potential and productive use of Africa’s water resources and assuring and safeguarding water quality for all uses,” she stated.