Two representatives of the Bill and Melinda GATES Foundation, Dennis MWANZA and Erin MCCUSKER, were in Abidjan from June 26-28, 2017 to participate in an exchange workshop with the Management and Finance staff of the African Water Association (AfWA). The meeting was also attended by the two Presidents of the AfWA Scientific and Technical Council, and the President of the Specialized Committee “Sanitation and Environment'' of the STC.

Other items on the agenda at this meeting included the presentation of AfWA’s resource mobilization strategy, the progress and future actions of the Rasop Africa program financed by the Gates Foundation, and the presentation of the next AfWA Business Plan for the period 2018-2022.

On the occasion of the 19th AfWA International Congress and Exhibition scheduled from February 11-16, 2018 in Bamako, Mali, the Gates Foundation and AfWA wish to focus on the issue of sanitation, which is often pushed into the background because of prioritizing drinking water requirements. This was expressed in the theme of the next Congress where the sanitation component comes before water and is: “Accelerating the access to sanitation and water for all, amidst the challenges of climate change''; thus the theme of this continental meeting, which is expected to attract over 1,500 professionals from the water, sanitation and hygiene sector from around the world.

For this purpose, the second day of the exchange work between AfWA and The Gates Foundation dealt with activities related to the sanitation sector to be organized as side events of the Congress, namely: the Sanitation day; a special exhibition on Sanitation with exhibitors from Asia; forums for young professionals, women, and mayors of Bamako.

A range of activities supported by the Gates Foundation. Since 2016, the Gates Foundation has been committed to a 3-year partnership to finance the RASOP-Africa program implemented by AfWA.

A large scale sanitation program for sub-Saharan African countries strengthens partnerships between sanitation operators in Africa (RASOP-Africa) for the optimization of investments in infrastructure, is financed by the Gates Foundation and implemented by AfWA with the technical support of the Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA). Five African capital cities benefit from this sanitation program: Yamoussoukro (Cote d’Ivoire), Bamako (Mali), Yaounde (Cameroon), Lusaka (Zambia) and Kampala (Uganda).

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