African rural water supply and sanitation initiative announced

The African Union (AU) has started the Kigali Action Plan (KAP), an initiative to improve rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene in ten countries in Africa.

The KAP has been designed to mobilise approximately €50m to help finance water supply, improved sanitation and hygiene for five million people in Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Lesotho, Mauritania and Rwanda.

The initiative is in response to the inaugural African Water and Sanitation Report to the AU Assembly, which said that Africa will miss its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets for water supply and sanitation by 16% and 22% respectively.

Rwanda is leading the initiative, and has signed an agreement at the 23rd AU Summit with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to formalise the hosting of mobilised resources by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSSI) Trust Fund.

The RWSSI Trust Fund, along with contributions from the AfDB, bilateral and multilateral agencies and African governments and communities, will accelerate access to drinking water supply and sanitation in rural Africa to reach the MDG targets in 2015 and the African Water Vision targets of 2025.

AfDB agriculture, water, education, human development and natural resources vice president Aly Abou-Sabaa said: "The AfDB, through the RWSSI Trust Fund, has provided clean water for 82 million people and improved sanitation for 57 million."