The 86th meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) of the African Water Association (AfWA) started this Monday, March 15, 2021 under the theme "Contributions of the WASH sector in the fight against COVID 19 moving towards the 2022 Dakar World Water Forum. This meeting, held for the third consecutive time in videoconference, and sponsored by SOTICI, is attended by leading experts in the WASH sector, all committed to improving access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services for the people of Africa.

The opening of the meeting was marked by a series of tributes to the founding fathers of the Association, including Mr. Marcel Zadi Kessy (Côte d'Ivoire), forerunner of AfWA, Mr. Abdoulaye Bouna Fall (Senegal), and Mr. Gilbert Tshiongo (DRC) all present at the first hours of AfWA and who strived to make it grow.

Mr. Sylvain Usher, Executive Director of AfWA and Mr. Ramzi Omaïs, CEO of SOTCI paid tribute to the memory of the illustrious departed and promised to perpetuate their works.

In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Papa Samba Diop, Chair of the STC paid tribute to women for their commitment to the discussions and actions for access to water and sanitation on the continent. He also advocated that young people's voices be heard and that leaders involve them in the debates on the challenges of the sector. Regarding the World Water Forum Dakar 2022, the STC Chair reminded the strategic member position of AfWA and invited the Association to write a white paper to be submitted to the organizing committee of the forum.

During this first day of the STC's meeting, participants were able to discover innovative technologies presented by the sector's industrialists, in particularly tools for protecting water and sanitation companies' information systems, equipment for remote management and supervision of drinking water networks, and a case study by Eau du Morbihan after two years of using Filtralite - an innovative filtering media.

Opened on March 15, the 86th CST conference will end on March 17, 2021.