On 6 December 2016, the AWF Governing Council met in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to approve the AWF Long Term Strategy for 2017-2025. Given the African water sector’s immense investment needs, the AWF will continue to build on these results in the 2017-2025 strategy period. Over the next 9 years, the AWF will focus its activities and operations around three strategic priorities - Project Preparation (75% of projects), Catalytic Investments (15%) and Investment Promotion (10%) -  which together provide a comprehensive approach to preparing sustainable infrastructure projects, whilst strengthening the enabling investment climate, and facilitating investment financing up to financial closure. Have a look at the new AWF Strategy at a glance.

AWF approved a grant of about €2 million to support a multinational transboundary project to prepare a Climate Resilient Water Resources Investment Strategy and Multipurpose Project for the Orange-Senqu River Basin, serving the population of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. The main goal of this project is to promote sustainable socio-economic growth in the basin riparian countries through climate resilient water resources development in the framework of basin wide cooperation led by the Orange Senqu River Basin Commission (ORASECOM). The project will foster enhanced sustainable water resources management of the basin, increased investments based on better planning allowing more multipurpose projects to address the livelihood needs of the communities living in rural and urban areas.More

AWF provided a grant of close to €2 million to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda to support the development of a 25-year national water supply and sanitation masterplans that will guide the achievement of national universal access for water supply and sanitation through the identification of effective water supply and sanitation projects. The grant will also go towards building various water stakeholders’ capacities to plan, design, finance, implement and manage water and sanitation projects and infrastructure. Ultimately, the project will benefit the people of Rwanda through improved water supply and sanitation services, improved environmental conditions resulting in improved standards of living.More

Efforts in Africa in the sanitation sector those last 30 years have not had a significant impact on the population's access rate to sanitation in urban areas, which remains at around 40% only. Many strategies are deployed in recent years by various international institutions to give another turn to the sector through the introduction of innovations in technology, sector structuring, financing and management mechanisms with the involvement of the private sector and public-private partnership. More

The AWF held a three-day event from September 28 to 30, 2016 to launch the Improved Sanitation Value Chain (ISVC) project, which aims to serve the urban poor in Arba Minch Town, one of the major cities of Southern Ethiopia. The AWF €1.5 million grant to the ISVC project will contribute to improve sanitation and faecal waste management for more than 21,000 Arba Minch citizens while boosting the local businesses and agricultural production with the provision of eco-friendly and affordable fertilisers. More

AWF Participation in the COP 22 /// AWF supports improved smallholder farmers resilience to climate change through irrigation upscaling in Zambia /// AWF Participation in the 7th Rural Water Supply Network Forum in Abidjan on 29 November- 2 December  /// Developing rainwater to reduce poverty and tackle drought in Cameroon