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About 800 participants will assemble in November this year in Cote d’ Ivoire to discuss how to make water available to all in Africa

A HIGH level forum on water and sanitation for all in Africa is billed to take place in Cote d’ Ivoire later this year. The forum, which is being convened for the third time, has the theme “To promote vibrant and effective South-South Cooperation to Accelerate Access to Hygiene, Sanitation, and Drinking Water for All in Africa”. Originally set up by the Pan-African Intergovernmental Agency for Water and Sanitation for Africa, WSA, this year’s forum is being organised in association with the government of Cote d’ Ivoire. About 800 participants (the minimum estimate) are expected at the forum which holds from November 21 to 23.

The 2013 forum has three main objectives. The first is to find the best way to take advantage of the South-South partnerships for the development of business opportunities in terms of financial cooperation for the implementation of priority projects beyond the reach of national budgets in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, WASH. The second is to develop strategic alliances and partnerships to strengthen the technical and institutional capacities of southern countries in the WASH sector while the third is to stimulate the sharing of experiences and know-how between southern countries in the WASH sector.

The forum should be of interest to all stakeholders and senior officials in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector in Africa. They include African heads of state, ministers responsible for water and sanitation issues in Africa, African finance ministers, as well as technical and financial partners from the North and South, mainly consisting of export-import banks, researchers, investors, NGOs, and integration and development organisations.

The first two fora were held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Dakar, Senegal. Its objective is to provide a platform for various decision-makers and stakeholders involved in this sector in Africa to exchange information and exert their influence, thus encouraging decisions and concrete action in support of WASH in Africa.

WSA, which has 32 member countries, has been working in Africa for 25 years to develop solutions to address the problems of water and sanitation on the continent. Its mission is based on the establishment of integrated systems combining the optimisation of technical and scientific approaches with innovative funding mechanisms.

— Jul. 29, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

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