In order to promote the professionalization of the emptying profession, defend their rights, improve their working conditions and give a better face to sanitation in Africa, the associations of emptiers from African countries have decided to group together in a continental association called: Pan African Association of Actors for non-sewer Sanitation (PASA). PASA was launched on Sunday 17 February 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa, in the presence of about forty emptying associations’ representatives, from 19 French and English-speaking countries in Africa. This launching ceremony was organized prior the AfricaSan 5/FSM5 conference, which took place from 18 to 22 February 2019 in Cape Town.

During the ceremony, Mr Ibra Sow, President of the Senegalese Sanitation Actors’ Association (AAAS), thanked AfWA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their high support in the process of creation of their Association . He expressed his satisfaction with the strong mobilization of his peers at this meeting, expressing his pleasure of being with them, the precursors of such an organization, which now has a voice on sanitation issues on the continent. "we have decided to think big, we have decided to set our minds in motion, we have decided to put our experiences into practice, because the vision we have of this sector is neither partial nor fragmented, it is global and complete," he said. He then urged his colleagues to change their perception of the emptying profession: "we are not only those who talk about sanitation problems, but rather, those who propose solutions, we are among the solutions to sanitation problems" he hammered.

Mr Sylvain Usher, Executive Director of AfWA, was also pleased with the creation of the Association, which filled a major gap in the sector; however, he warned that "the hardest part is not setting up an association, the hardest part is making it work to achieve the objectives for which it has been created". He then presented the alarming sanitation’ situation in Africa before saying: "Africa relies on you"; and in order to move forward, he invited PASA to sign a memorandum of understanding with AfWA to jointly initiate collaborative actions and receive possible support.

The representative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Brian Aborgast, Director of WASH Team, expressed the wish that APAA would effectively contribute to improving the conditions of its members so that they could offer quality services to the population. He reminded them of their essential role in the sanitation value chain and invited them to grow the association by continuing to raise awareness in countries where there are not yet an emptier’s association and which are therefore not members of PASA. It should be noted that the creation of the Emptyers' Associations was facilitated by the African Water Association as part of the implementation of the Capacity Building of African Sanitation Operators through Peer Learning Partnerships (RASOP-Africa) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.