Despite the health crisis caused by COVID-19, which is shaking the world and limiting travel, the African Water Association honored its commitments towards its members.

Indeed, the 84th meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) which was to be held in a face-to-face meeting in Lomé, Togo, turned into a videoconference meeting from 27 to 29 July, 2020.

Sponsored by TOGO’s Water Corporation (TdE), this meeting gathered more than 150 AfWA’s members under the theme "Mechanisms for maintaining drinking water quality and sound sanitation services in Africa, and resilience during health crisis".

At the opening of the meeting, the Managing Director of the TdE, Mr. Gbati YAWANKE WAKE, in his speech, drew the picture of numerous challenges to face by African companies dealing with water production and supply, at this time of health crisis, before stating that "...drinking water is the must-have convenience for washing hands with soap, the basic barrier action for responding to the pandemic linked to Covid-19. (...) As industrial and human activities slow down during the health crisis, those of water and sanitation services become more intense, and quality more crucial".

After him, the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) chairman, Dr Papa Samba Diop, pointed out that the Covid-19 crisis confirmed the extent to which the health systems of African countries are, and how public policies related to water and sanitation should be more proactive. He reiterated the Association's commitment to the world in terms of seeking, finding, proposing solutions and implementing responses, in time and out of time, to address the water and sanitation crisis that Africa is facing. Dr Papa Samba Diop acknowledged many efforts made by politicians and the WASH community to improve access to the resource; however, he said, "there are still about 320 million people on the continent who do not have access to safe drinking water, and 695 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who do not have access to adequate sanitation". He went on to say: "As long as there is only one person on our continent who is subject to the chore of fetching water or the practice of open defecation, our work must continue".

The opening ceremony was followed by the high-level panel during which the experts explained that in view of the current health crisis, water and sanitation utilities should focus on the conditions of access to the most vulnerable populations. According to them, there is a need to strengthen advocacy, partnership and collaboration with other sectors such as health, education and policy makers to increase the share of the budget allocated to water and sanitation.

The following day was devoted to the work of the specialized committees and the closing ceremony of the STC took place on Wednesday, 29 July 2020 after the presentation of the reports of the various committees.

The 85th session of the AfWA Scientific and Technical Council will take place in November 2020.

It should be noted that the Scientific and Technical Council is one of the operational bodies of EFA. Its mission is to identify, discuss and propose solutions to the managerial, scientific, technical or environmental challenges that the members of the Association may face.