The circle of African Water Association (AfWA) networks of professional women in the WASH sector is expanding. AfWA now has three new professional women networks. The networks of Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria were presented during the 77th AfWA Scientific and Technical Council Meetings held July 17-21, 2017 in Accra, Ghana.

On the evening of the 18th AfWA Congress in February 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, the African professional women present ratified the “Nairobi Declaration” with the vision to establish national networks of professional women in the WASH sector in each AfWA member country.

In Africa as on other continents, women are the most experienced in the quest for water resources. The burden of fetching water rests entirely on the shoulders of women and girls with the disadvantages of depriving them of opportunities to acquire an education or move towards productive activities. Through this policy of promoting gender in the WASH sector, AfWA aims to establish an African network of professional women whose main mission is to bring the voice of women to the highest levels of decision-making in the WASH sector in Africa.

To further support this dynamic, a women’s network forum is planned during the 19th AfWA International Congress and Exhibition to be held on February 11-16, 2018 in Bamako, Mali. It should be noted that the Malian Network of Professional Women in Water and Sanitation (REMAFPEA), created in January 2017, took this opportunity to present their activities previously carried out in relation to their 2017-2018 action plan.