The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed $3 million to the African Water Facility (AWF) to support the preparation of water and sanitation investment projects in the continent through the provision of grants and technical assistance to African countries and regional economic communities.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), which gave this hint in a statement issued and posted on its website, indicated that the African Water Facility represented the only African project preparation facility solely focused on addressing water and sanitation issues in the continent.
The bank stated that the African Water Facility, an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is hosted by the AfDB to help countries achieve the objectives and targets set by the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and African Water Vision 2025 and it does this through the preparation of innovative water and sanitation projects across the continent
The statement reads, in part: “Approximately 400 million people lack basic water supply services, while over 700 million people have no access to decent sanitation.
”Nearly 200 million people still practice open defecation, and 750 million have no hygiene access.
”Achieving water security and sanitation for all requires large-scale investment in water supply and sanitation, improved governance of water resources and operations, and the design of climate-resilient infrastructure”, it added.
The development finance institution disclosed that since its inception, the Facility provided 205 million euros in grant funding for water and sanitation projects in Africa and also attracted over 1.7 billion euros in downstream investment in the water and sanitation sector.
Speaking on the USAID’s latest intervention, the AfDB’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford, said: “This USAID financing affirms growing international support for the AWF as a trusted partner and resource for Africa’s water sector.
”We thank the United States for the funding commitment that will contribute to scaling up the Facility’s work and positively impacting more people across the continent.
”Under its 2022 – 2027 Strategy, USAID aims to reach 22 million people with access to safe drinking water and 22 million people with access to sanitation over five years”, she added.
Also, the AWF Coordinator, Mtchera Chirwa said the Facility was raising millions of euros to develop investments and accelerate public and private sector financing of the water sector and deployment of innovation to improve service delivery.
Chirwa said: ”The support from USAID comes in the lead-up to its 2023 funding dialogue in Paris this October, where the facility will engage donors, beneficiary governments, and multilateral and international organizations.”
