The SAO-CWIS Programme (Capacity Building Programme for the AfWASA and African Operators for the Implementation of Inclusive Sanitation at City Level), funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This is the largest sanitation programme implemented by the AfWASA, targeting more than 10 million people in 52 cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND 

Access to safely managed sanitation services is one of the crucial challenges for most African countries. The quality and coverage of services by sanitation operators is inadequate due to many factors, including institutional fragmentation, lack of leadership, weak regulatory frameworks, lack of skills in managing, operating and maintaining sanitation systems, and the absence of sustainable financing models for the provision of continuous services. This situation is exacerbated by rapid population growth and sprawling, uncontrolled urbanisation. In 2006, the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation recognised the WOP (Water Operators' Partnerships) approach - which promotes capacity building and knowledge sharing through partnerships between water and sanitation operators - as an effective way of addressing the challenges identified, thereby improving operator performance and accelerating progress towards the MDGs for water and sanitation services. 

GOAL 

This project aims to support the AfWA in fulfilling its broad mandate of building the capacity of African sanitation actors to contribute to the MDGs and the global urban sanitation agenda in sub-Saharan Africa by following the inclusive sanitation approach at city scale.

Programme components 

1. To improve the organisational effectiveness of AfWA in order to achieve its mission and vision in Africa.
2. Improve the capacity of 300 African sanitation stakeholders in 30 cities to implement city-wide inclusive sanitation (CWIS).
3. To adopt innovative approaches and technologies in 06 African cities for the implementation of CWIS.
4. Improve the enabling environment for CWIS implementation in 30 African cities through advocacy and communication.
5. To strengthen the leadership of 400 African women professionals in the WASH sector in Africa.

Implementation strategy 

The overall strategy will comprise three (03) levels of operation: 

1. General coordination at AAE headquarters in Abidjan,
2. Classroom training across the AAEA structure and
3. Peer learning activities facilitated by regional implementing partners.

Other information

Implementing partners: African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW)

Regional implementing partners :

West Africa: CEMEAU (ONEA), Burkina Faso Central Africa: ERA, Cameroon East Africa: IREC (NWSC), Uganda Southern Africa: eThekwini Municipality and UKZN, South Africa. Programme duration: 2020 - 2023 Estimated budget: 5,400,000 USD Financed by BMGF and USAID

Geographic focus: Africa