After 3 years of implementation, the GAPWAS project (German-African Partnership for Water and Sanitation) has come to an end. The closing conference marking the end of this initiative was held on September 6 in Abidjan. The overall objective of this project was to improve the institutional framework for water supply and sanitation in Africa by increasing AfWA's membership, developing its demand-based services, optimizing its financing concept, and fostering its regional and international cooperation.  The project's objectives were widely achieved according to GAPWAS Project Director Natalie Kolbe and Mr. Sylvain Usher, Executive Director of AfWA. To this end, the Minister of cooperation of Germany, the project's donor, via Sequa, has renewed its confidence in AfWA by deciding to continue the partneship through the second phase of the project.