13.30 to 15.00

USAID’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN) program has been implemented since 2016 with the objective of closing financing gaps to achieve universal access to water and sanitation services through sustainable and creditworthy business models, increased public funding, and expanded market finance for infrastructure investment. The program has so far helped raise over USD 68.4 million in 8 countries in Africa and Asia, showing that it is possible to leverage private financing to the sector.

Having access to safe drinking water and sanitation is central to living a life in dignity and upholding human rights. Yet billions of people still do not enjoy these fundamental rights.

" Context

Africa has undergone fundamental changes over the last decade, which has fueled increasing demand for water and interconnected sectors underpinning human development, food security, energy access, environmental wellbeing, and climate action. Building on the vision of the EU-Africa partnership “Towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa” this special session serves as a follow-up to the European Union - African Union summit (17-18 February 2022).

The world is not on track to reach the Sustainable Development Goal targets 6.2 on sanitation and 6.3 on wastewater management. Today, 3.6 billion people lack safely managed sanitation and more than 494 million people still practice open defecation, which is posing serious threats to public health, environment, and economic development.

The private sector is a major player in driving innovation and developing demand-driven knowledge-based solutions in the water and sanitation sector. German companies within the water and sanitation sector have recognized that the key factors which ensure their long-term viability and sustainability of investments are employees with exactly the right qualifications as well as sector-specific knowledge and skills. For this reason, the private sector is continuously investing in training young people.

Water professionals increasingly need to address pollution by chemicals of emerging concern’s (CECs), including low dose and mixtures effects on early indicators of toxic pathway, which cannot be evaluated by traditional substance-based analytical methods.

The impact of the environment on the health of individuals and communities is profound. Nowhere is this reality felt as strongly as on the African continent, where a large proportion of diseases are determined by environmental factors, and where the living conditions of communities (habitat, food, transport) make them extremely vulnerable to changes in the environment and climate.

Floods and droughts are some of the most tangible and devastating consequences of the climate crisis. The World Bank, Deltares, and the World Meteorological Organization’s Associated Program for Flood Management (APFM) and Integrated Drought Management Program (IDMP) have teamed up to further explore and operationalize the potential of leveraging synergies in the management of floods and drought.