The African Water Facility has secured 12 million euros from the Nordic Development Fund for a new funding initiative to support African governments, utilities, the private sector, and other stakeholders to expand access to safe and sustainable sanitation in African cities.

The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII) was launched on 27 August 2024, on the sidelines of World Water Week 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nordic Development Fund (www.NDF.int) announced the funding during a panel session on investing in Africa’s water sector, which it hosted in tandem with the African Union’s African Water Investment Program (https://AIPWater.org).

Over the next ten years, the African Water Facility, through the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative, aims to mobilise $320 million to support 50 sanitation projects, connecting at least 15 million people in urban areas to safely managed sanitation services and generating $7 billion in downstream investments. Ten percent of the $320 million is expected to come from climate-focused funding sources. The Facility is hosted by the African Development Bank.

“We are delighted to have successfully launched AUSII and to have secured this grant from the Nordic Development Fund as we operationalise our new financing window for urban sanitation. We hope to see more support from other partners for this important initiative which will ensure inclusive and sustainable access to safe sanitation and cross-cutting impact on development on the continent,” said Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Coordinator, African Water Facility and Acting African Development Bank Director for Water Development and Sanitation.

Satu Santala, the Nordic Development Fund’s Managing Director, said, “Africa has the lowest sanitation access levels in the world. With the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative, we aim to support the provision of innovative and socially inclusive solutions to solve this challenge, especially as the impacts of climate change worsen. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and continue this collaboration with partners like the African Water Facility.”

The new financing window comes at a time of increasing demand for water and sanitation on the continent, and for the African Water Facility’s resources and expertise to prepare projects and mobilise investment to meet these demands. Africa’s cities are growing exponentially due to rapid urbanisation, and traditional sewer systems, which are expensive and complex to build and maintain, are no longer viable, especially in densely populated urban areas.

“I believe the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative can help turn this around,” said Dr Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, in remarks delivered virtually. “The initiative will serve as an accelerator and innovator to help African governments and private sector develop solutions to Africa’s sanitation challenges.”

Beyond delivering infrastructure, AUSII aims to promote the transition to more targeted solutions such as onsite and decentralised sanitation systems, tailored to the specific needs of African cities. “The beauty of the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative is that it will take a flexible approach to each and every identified project for implementation. This is particularly important as beneficiary countries are at various stages of development,” said Carl-Hermann Schlettwein, Namibia’s Minister for Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, and Chair of the African Water Facility’s Governing Council.

“The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative is a landmark for the African Water Facility, and for water resources management in Africa in general, to accelerate progress… the member states of the African Ministers Council on Water fully support the initiative,” said Dr Rashid Mbaziira, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers Council on Water (https://AMCOW-Online.org).

The African Water Facility will organise regional information sessions on the Initiative starting in Cairo, Egypt during the 9th Africa Water Week in October 2024.