20th AfWA ICE: Mayors from across Africa reaffirm their commitment to creating and improving inclusive sanitation policies in African cities

Mayors’ forum on Advancing city-wide Inclusive Sanitation in Africa was held on Tuesday 25 February2020 during the 20th AfWA International Congress and Exhibition. On this occasion, the local elected reaffirmed their commitments related to sanitation made on February 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa at the FSM5/AfricaSan5 conference.

For this 3rd Forum of Mayors in Kampala, 12 African city leaders made commitments to strengthen City to City partnerships for advancing the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) agenda at city level. Strategies were agreed to implement the ‘Citywide Inclusive Sanitation’ (CWIS) approach to accelerate ‘access to Sanitation for all by 2030’.

Opened by Erias Lukwago, Lord Mayor of Kampala City, the Mayors’ Forum featured introductory comments from Africa Water Association and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a keynote address from WaterAid, and presentations from city leaders and sanitation experts.

Participants also shared their practical experiences on progress made following the Cape Town 2019 Mayors’ Declaration last year, alongside panel discussions and brainstorming sessions to strengthen intercity partnerships.

The event was also attended by Political Heads of Local Authorities and cities from across Africa, development partners, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), CEOs from the utilities and private sectors, as well as High level Government Officials. Participants were required to commit and demonstrate political will to take an innovative approach to leverage financing and adopt technical sanitation.

Discussions focused on the need to develop comprehensive approaches to improve sanitation that encompass long-term planning, technical innovation, institutional reforms and financial mobilization, to benefit the lives and health of local populations.