After the previous meeting in Accra, Ghana in March 2017, the meeting of the Coordination Secretariat of WASH was held in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. This meeting, held for the fifth time, brought together various organisations working in the WASH area and receiving funding from the USAID West Africa Office around the same table.

The aim of this coordination meeting was to present the activities carried out by these organisations in the water, sanitation, hygiene, and environment sectors in West Africa. But above all, this meeting aimed to develop action synergies to learn from the experience and expertise of one another, including national organisations, members of civil society and organisations in the WASH sector. Dr. Lakhdar BOUKERROU, Regional Director of the USAID WA-WASH Bureau and initiator of the meeting, presented the program’s scope of intervention in three countries: Ghana, Niger and Burkina Faso, Head Office of the USAID WA-WASH Bureau.

Gilles GJADOUN, Coordinator of the AfriCap Program, presented on this capacity-building and knowledge-sharing program implemented by the African Water Association prior to a Q&A session on AfriCap’s different components. GJADOUN also addressed activities to be implemented in water quality improvement through the laboratories selected under this program.

Mr. Serges SEIBA from PSI/SSD, Mrs. Megan WILSON from Medentech, Mr. Hamidou BALIMA from the Directorate-General of Drinking Water, and Mr. Fousséni PALENFO from the Directorate-General of Sanitation also took turns presenting their respective activities.