2 July 2014: The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Rwanda signed the ‘Kigali Action Plan’ to improve access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) on the sidelines of the 23rd African Union (AU) Summit. The Plan will focus on community-level action to ensure rural household access to water supply and sanitation in ten African countries.

The initiative responds to the African Water and Sanitation Report to the AU Assembly, which emphasizes that Africa will miss the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for sanitation and water supply by 22 and 16%, respectively. The report also notes the need to address issues that hinder MDG achievement, and for increased financing to implement African commitments to water and sanitation.

The Plan aims to mobilize €50 million to finance WASH, under the leadership of Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame. The AfDB Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Trust Fund will host mobilized resources.

The ten countries participating in the plan are all off-track in achieving the MDGs and eight of them are considered fragile States. The participating countries are: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Lesotho and Mauritania.

Activities will include sanitation and water supply infrastructure, development of rural water and sanitation policies, capacity building and training. [AfDB Press Release] [AU Summit Website]