In 2020, AfWA will celebrate 40 years of its existence. 40 years of improving the performance of water and sanitation operators in Africa. On the occasion of this anniversary, which coincides with its 20th Congress to be held from 24 to 27 February 2020 in Uganda, the Pan-African Association wants to put the little things into the big picture.

AWARDS TO MEMBERS

AfWA plans to launch competitions to reward (1) the best network of professional women, (2) the best network of young professionals, (3) the innovative project of a young professional, (4) the best water member utility, (5) the best sanitation member utility. The objective is to encourage and promote networks that have distinguished themselves in the implementation of their action plans and have implemented high-impact actions efficiently. For water and sanitation operators, AfWA will reward the best performers according to criteria provided by the specialised committees. The winners of these various competitions will be rewarded at the 40th anniversary gala dinner in Kampala on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

REFORMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED

At the institutional level, the Executive Board (EB), the Executive Office (EO), the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) and the other AfWA bodies have agreed to develop a new vision and reflection for the future of the Association, in order to meet the objectives and deadlines set by the international community by 2030. The objective is to implement a governance and management reform, and to improve the Association's performance and repositioning on an international scale. In this perspective, a multidisciplinary steering group, called the AfWA40 Taskforce, has been created by the STC with the mission of reflecting on the future of AfWA after 40 years of existence, designing a new vision that can supply the current Strategic Action Plan new ideas, studying and steering change proposals. AFWA OF TOMORROW AfWA has reached a stage of maturity, but also and above all a phase of saturation where it needs to renew itself and open up to other prospects and horizons. It is expected to meet the objectives and deadlines set by the international community by 2030. To this end, it is necessary to initiate a process of in-depth reflection to evolve, monitor and adapt to this global and regional context. AfWA is called upon to make new strategic choices in order to strengthen its position as a key player at the continental and international level, to make structural changes in order to ensure sustainable, efficient and inclusive development; and finally, AfWA should find new take-off mechanisms and drivers to raise itself to a higher level and become a key player in the water and sanitation sector in Africa.