Africa: First African Water Week concludes with Ministerial Declaration

Updated - Monday 28 April 2008

The First African Water Week (AWW-1), hosted by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the theme of ‘Accelerating Water Security for the Socio Economic Development of Africa’, took place from 26-28 March 2008 in Tunis, Tunisia. The meeting’s three objectives were to provide a forum for key actors in Africa’s water sector to discuss the opportunities and challenges of achieving water security for Africa’s socio economic development, take stock of the status of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and related targets on water in Africa, and make recommendations for consideration by the 2008 African Union (AU) and G8 summits, and the 2009 Fifth World Water Forum (WWF-5). Over 540 participants, including 30 ministers, attended the meeting.

The ‘Ministerial Declaration on Accelerating Water Security for Africa’s Socio Economic Development‘ reflects the specific commitments that ministers would act on. In addition, WWF-5 launched its regional preparatory process.

During the AWW-1 the media reported that the AfDB “intends to raise about US$ 4.5 billion (EUR 2.85 billion) to take the number of Africans having access to drinking water from the current 46 per cent to 66 per cent in 2010", and that the “African Water Facility (AWF) needs US$ 200 million (EUR 127 million) to finance its activities for the period 2008-2010".

Web sites: