Representatives of various local, regional and international development agencies and from different levels of Government met in Ouagadougou to discuss the funding of a sanitation project in the peri-urban areas of Ouagadougou, estimated at 138 million (FCFA 90.5 billion). This project should be completed by 2017 and is expected to improve the lives of an estimated one million people living in the most vulnerable areas of the city.
The donor roundtable was organized by Ouagadougou's City Council to mobilize the necessary funds for the construction of the planned infrastructure. The project was the subject of feasibility studies funded by the African Water Facility (AWF) which provided 647,000, covering 88 per cent of the costs of the preparatory work completed in August 2011.
We are proud to be associated with this initiative and confident in the leadership of the City to carry out such an important and promising project, said Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. We hope the financial partners will also support this project, which should benefit a wide range of citizens, including youth, women and the poorest people of the suburbs, providing them with a better living environment.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) has already committed to funding the project up to 26 million (FCFA 17 billion) to begin the works as early as 2013, adding to the ???8 million (FCFA 5 billion ) committed by the Government of Burkina Faso, and the 1.5 million (FCFA 1 billion) invested by the Municipality of Ouagadougou. The City is now seeking to fill the 103 million (FCFA 67.5 billion) gap with other financial partners, most of whom expressed interest in the project during the roundtable stage.
The project is of paramount importance to Ouagadougou, in light of the tragic flood of September 1, 2009, which left thousands homeless. The City hopes to implement a sanitation system resilient to the increasingly devastating floods capital has been recurrently facing in recent years due to climate change.
Aside from the AWF and African Development Bank (AfDB), other agencies were represented at the meeting including the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the French Development Agency, the German Development Bank (KfW), the Islamic Development Bank, OFID (former Fund of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), UN-Habitat, WaterAid, Water and Sanitation Agency Africa, the West African Development Bank and the World Bank.
Burkina Faso and the City of Ouagadougou are important partners of the African Water Facility. Moreover, Burkina Faso recently joined the group of donors of the African Water Facility by making a contribution of 80,000. This contribution demonstrates the country's commitment to promoting the development of the water sector both at home and across the continent.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Development Bank.
About the African Water Facility (AWF)
The AWF is an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), established in 2004 as a Special Water Fund to help African countries achieve the objectives of the Africa Water Vision 2025. The AWF offers grants from 50,000 to 5 million to support projects aligned with its mission and strategy to a wide range of institutions and organizations operating in Africa. Its three strategic priority activities are: (1) preparing investment projects to mobilise investment funds for projects supported by AWF; (2) enhancing water governance to create an environment conducive for effective and sustainable investments; (3) promoting water knowledge for the preparation of viable projects and informed governance leading to effective and sustainable investments. Since 2006, AWF has funded 73 national and regional projects in 50 countries, including in Africa's most vulnerable states. It has mobilised more than 532 million as a result of its project preparation activities, which constitute 70 per cent of its portfolio. On average, each 1 contributed by the AWF has attracted 20 in additional follow-up investment.
The AWF is entirely funded by Algeria, Australia, Austria, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the African Development Bank. For more information, http://www.africanwaterfacility.org
Contact: Katia Theriault, T. +216 71 10 12 79, M. +216 95 99 13 90, k.theriault@afdb.org