Although the final millennium development goal (MDG) evaluation report has globally shown progress in drinking water access, challenges remain in achieving sanitation goals. The UN millennium water group pointed out that the current pace of progress is still too slow to reach the MDGs in Africa, where only very few countries have met the targets. In addition, long-term sustainability of current achievements is not guaranteed.

With the international community preparing to engage in the race toward achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), there is increasing agreement that, solving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)–related challenges in Africa require reaching a wider audience with lessons learned from best practices. Such approach will hopefully contribute toward addressing systemic issues with sustainability and indiscriminate approaches that plague the WASH sector in Africa.

Program Description

The African Water Association Capacity Building (AfriCap) program supports the African Water Association (AfWA) in bringing together leaders from institutions involved in the water and sanitation sector. In regular meetings AfWA members share lessons learned on issues concerning, but not limited to, drinking water production and distribution, management of sanitation services, and water and sanitation regulations and policies.

Objectives

  • Disseminate knowledge products and best practices consistent with the demands of AfWA
  • Develop partnerships and mentoring relationships between AfWA members
  • Improve AfWA’s institutional capacity

Program Information

Goal: Influence the region’s sanitation and hygiene sub-sector to create a more effective, sustainable, and inclusive sanitation and hygiene market for the urban poor by developing and testing scalable interventions that engage private sector sanitation service providers and contribute to the creation of a strong, enabling environment for the sanitation sector.

Life of Program: Phase 1: 2015 – 2019; Phase 2: 2019 - 2022

Total USAID FUNDING: $6 million

Geographic Focus: Africa

Implementing Partners:

  • African Water Association (AfWA)

  • African Water and Sanitation Academy (AWASA)

  • Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP)

  • West Africa Municipal WASH (MuniWASH)

  • African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)

Regional Implementing Partners:

  • West Africa: CEMEAU (ONEA)

  • Central Africa: ERA (Cameroon)

  • East Africa: IREC (NWSC)

  • Southern Africa: Rand Water and

  • Thekwinini Municipality