African Ministers’ Council on Water Strategy 2018–2030

The strategy draws lessons from AMCOW's achievements to date, placing water at the heart of development planning and raising the priority given to water for food, energy, and industrial production. AMCOW was formed in 2002 to promote cooperation, security, social, and economic development, and poverty eradication among Member States through the effective management of Africa's water resources and provision of water supply services. The organization brings together the line Ministers of Water for all 55 African States, who have adopted the following statement as their shared Vision: "An Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation, and the environment." AMCOW works with other key players in the sector on initiatives focused on key areas critical to the sector, mainly around financing, knowledge exchange, monitoring, and reporting. The organization has implemented several initiatives, including Africa Water Week and AfricaSan, which provide a forum for experience sharing and knowledge exchange on issues of water and sanitation across the continent. The strategy has identified four strategic priorities: Ensure Water Security, Ensure Safely Managed Sanitation and Hygiene, Promote Good Water Governance and Transboundary Water Cooperation, and Strengthen AMCOW's Governance and Operational Effectiveness. Additionally, the strategy has identified four cross-cutting priorities: Enhance Water and Sanitation Resilience to Climate Change, Contribute to Adequate and Sustainable Financing of Water and Sanitation Agendas, Improve Monitoring, Evaluation, and Knowledge Management Systems, and Strengthen Gender Equality and Youth Empowerment in Water and Sanitation. The strategy aims to fine-tune the monitoring system to ensure that the outcomes of the African Water Sector and Sanitation Monitoring and Reporting System of AMCOW are increasingly shaping the focus of the continental sector improvement efforts. The strategy also aims to increase coherence in the water and sanitation sector and build synergies with other sectors, particularly agriculture and energy. The implementation of the strategy will require the support of AU Member States, who are expected to provide political support and resources needed to implement the strategy. The strategy has been prepared with the overarching goal of strategically positioning AMCOW to do a great deal more to deliver on its commitments to assure the dignity of the people of Africa by providing adequate and sustained sanitation services and develop, manage, and utilize water resources to assure water, food, and energy security in Africa.