4 December 2014: On the occasion of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the African Water Facility (AWF), donors pledged €1.2 billion for follow-up water management projects. The funding is expected to support climate-smart water projects, improved sanitation and resilience building in the face of climate change.

The funding announcement was made during the 14th meeting of the AWF Governing Council Meeting, which convened from 28-29 November 2014, in Tunis, Tunisia. The meeting also presented an opportunity to review past successes, including innovations in sanitation, gender mainstreaming, agricultural water management and the implementation of projects in fragile states.

The meeting further highlighted the strength of public-private partnerships launched through AWF projects noting a funding leverage ratio of 1:40 and emphasizing the importance of including social business ventures within projects.

Overall, the review of past and planned AFW projects reveals that an expected 3.2 million people in Africa will have improved access to sanitation while 2.8 million people will benefit from better access to potable water. AFW is hosted by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). [AfDB Press Release]