From November 25 to 27, the Africa Water Facility (AWF) engaged stakeholders in a series of activities to conduct an evaluation of its performance in the last decade and also to map out a Long-Term Strategy going forward.
On November 25, a strategy review was conducted as the current AWF Strategic Plan extends only until the end of 2016. As the AWF reaches the mid-point in its intended life-cycle, such a milestone naturally provides an opportunity to reflect on the past 10 years and chart the way forward for the 2017-2030 strategic period.
The second event was the 15th Governing Council (GC) Meeting which took place on November 26, 2015. The meeting conducted a review of the outcome of the previous days for endorsement. The GC endorsed the outcomes of the consultative workshop, and urged the AWF to work closely with the Resource Mobilisation Steering Committee to accelerate the preparation of the Long-Term Strategy, considering its importance for resource mobilisation from AWF funding partners. The GC endorsed the 2016 Work Plan and Budget and invited the AWF team to increase actions to better market the Facility, both within Africa and internationally and to reinforce the resource mobilisation efforts.
Thirdly, a celebration of the AWF's 10th anniversary was held on Friday, November 27. The issue of unfulfilled commitments from the African Development Bank's Regional Member Countries and the gap in funding of AWF activities between now and 2018, when the funding for the new Strategy is expected to materialize, was a prime focus during the event. On improving donor cooperation for the facility, the AfDB Vice-President for Sector Operations, Aly Abou-Sabaa emphasized that "the Bank needs the partnership of the member states in appreciating the urgency to bring about the desired transformation and growth for Africa. The Facility is the natural choice for this partnership."
The Government of Nigeria responded with a commitment to contribute US $1 million, while the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) Secretariat and donors agreed to support the fund raising campaign to be launched by the AWF, in order to mobilize €50 million by the end of 2016 and secure the resources for the 2017-2018 transition period.
SOURCE African Development Bank (AfDB)
