The first meetings of the African Water Association were opened this Monday, February 13, 2017 in Rabat, Morocco, with the Scientific and Technical Council (STC). This 76th edition of the STC, organized in collaboration with the National Office for Electricity and Water of Morocco (ONEE), was held until Wednesday, January 15, 2017 at the MOHAMED VI International Conference Center of Skhirate on the outskirts of Rabat.

The inaugural day called Open Door Day (ODD) focused on the theme ''Water and Sanitation in Africa: Challenges and Perspectives ''. This Scientific and Technical Council chaired by the Minister with special responsibility for Water Affairs of Morocco, Mrs. Charafat AFILAL, brought together many delegates from Africa and the rest of the world. These were, among others, managing directors and technicians of water and sanitation utilities, equipment suppliers, funding institutions, members of the scientific community and civil society. The Scientific and Technical Council of the African Water Association is a body whose purpose is to study the management, legal, financial and technical problems related to the Water and Sanitation Sector which the actors can be confronted to.

In her opening address, Minister Charafat AFILAL for Water Affairs of Morocco recalled her country's great commitments to implement sound policies to ensure fair and equitable access to water and sanitation services, with the organization in July 2016 of the International Conference on Water and Climate, which has enabled a better positioning for the current issues related to water and sanitation in Africa. "It was the first time in the history of the conferences of parties that water was at the forefront for Cop22 to confirm that dimension," she underlined. This commitment was reaffirmed by the organization in November 2016 of the 22nd conference of the stakeholders on climate change, COP 22.

This was a high-level meeting that brought together a large number of Heads of State, and which made it possible to continue advocacy, federate and mobilize all the partners for the development of the water and sanitation sector in Africa in a context of unfavorable climate change", she went on. To conclude, Minister Charafat AFILAL called for the union of forces, political will, to achieve the objectives of sustainable development for Africa and more specifically for the theme on the agenda of the debates, namely improving Conditions for Access to Water, Sanitation Services for all African Citizens.

At the meeting of the CST RABAT, a high-level panel focused on "Water and Sanitation in Africa: Challenges and Prospective" took place. This panel, which brought together 7 professionals from the water, sanitation and financial sectors, aims to be an exchange session where high-level specialists share together knowledge and experience. The goal of these workshop is to contribute to reflections on the theme of the 19th AfWA congress scheduled for February 2018 in Bamako, Mali.

This Scientific and Technical Council, which concluded on Wednesday, February 15, was followed on Thursday, February 16, 2017 by an Executive Board (EB) meeting and the following day by a General Assembly (GA) of the African Water Association. It should be noted that AfWA is a platform for improving the performance of water utilities, with around 120 members from 43 African countries. It was created in 1980.