African Water Facility raises €1.2bn investment

The African Water Facility (AWF), an initiative of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), will receive €1.2bn in follow-on investments from multiple donors for water management projects in the continent.

The projects completed by the organisation are likely to benefit 3.2 million people in the country by offering them access to improved sanitation facilities.

AWF projects have also opened up improved drinking water sources in Africa, helping around 2.8 million people.

Besides sanitation projects and agricultural water management, AWF has taken up multiple initiatives to mainstream climate change resilience, African Development Bank (AFDB) said.

AWF has worked to improve private sector engagement by inviting social business ventures to contribute to project designs.

Nigerian Minister of Water Resources and Chair of the AWF Governing Council Sarah Reng Ochekpe said: "The AWF provides an unparalleled opportunity to address the critical gaps that African countries face in the provision of water and sanitation to many needy people."

AFDB agriculture, water, human development, governance and natural resources operations vice-president Aly Abou-Sabaa said: "AWF has developed into an effective vehicle for water security and green development and a successful financial leveraging instrument."

The organisation has plans to go ahead with climate-smart water projects in the future, AMCOW said.

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Image: Local girls from Babile fill yellow water jugs at the area’s main water source, 26 May 2012. Photo: courtesy of Senior Airman Lael Huss / Wikipedia.