Opened on Monday, February 13, 2017, the 76th session of the Scientific and Technical Council of the African Water Association closed its doors on Wednesday, February 16, 2017 with a feedback ceremony in a plenary. This was held at the Mohamed VI International Conference Center in Skhirate, on the outskirts of the Capital City of the Kingdom of Morocco, Rabat. At the end of three days work, the various Specialized Committees (SCs), namely the Management, Technical Management, Sanitation and Environment Committees, presented the summary report of their works.

The report of Specialized Committee 1-MANAGEMENT highlights a set of actions to be implemented. They are related to the knowledge management and sharing project, capacity building sessions, the Master’s 2 level grant program for young professionals in West Africa as well as a series of activities to be implemented to improve women’s representation in the water and sanitation sector through the establishment of national networks.

As for Specialized Committee 2-Technical Management, it worked on various points. These include the evaluation of Non-Revenue Water (NRW), the progress of the water quality programs and finally the validation of the terms of reference of the Master’s Classes to be implemented in the course of 2017.

Finally, the third Specialized Committee on Sanitation and Environment discussed issues related to the progress as well as new areas for strengthening the RASOP program; the implementation strategy of the "Toilets for all" initiative; the continuing education process for professionals in the sector through Master’s Classes; and the identification, by AfWA, of new sanitation projects at its level.

After thanking all the delegates for the quality of their works, the President of the Scientific and Technical Council, Olivier GOSSO, and the Executive Director of the African Water Association, Sylvain USHER, called for the effective implementation of all the recommendations.

The implementation of these recommendations will contribute to strengthening the role of the STC as an outstanding discussion and reflection platform in charge of proposing appropriate solutions to meet the challenges of management, legal, financial and technical nature in the Water and Sanitation sector. Undoubtedly, all the Rabat STC decisions will be evaluated at the next STC meeting to be held in Accra in July 2017. Handing over to the Committee of Ghana, the host country for the next STC, Dr. Lalla Asma Elkasmi, Director of International Cooperation of ONEE, renewed the support of her organization to the activities of AfWA before wishing a safe journey back to all the delegates.