Roland Iwuchukwu
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is taking strong steps to help African countries improve sanitation systems and provide safe drinking water for communities.
According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa faces significant water and sanitation challenges, amplified by increasing pressure on strained water resources by the continent’s growing population, which is expected to double by 2050.
Currently, 411 million people lack access to safe drinking water, 779 million are without essential sanitation services, and 839 million do not have access to basic hygiene services, according to a 2020 report by the Agencies.
To address the problem, the African Development Bank Group, African Water Facility and the Association of European Development Finance Institutions will host a high-level event to generate investment for water and sanitation services in Africa.
Taking place on 18 March 2025 in Brussels, the event will bring together development finance institutions, private sector investors, and philanthropic organizations.
During the event, the African Development Bank and African Water Facility will showcase investment-ready projects and those in their pipeline, offering opportunities for investors and development financiers to support high-impact water and sanitation projects, including homegrown solutions that will drive economic growth, social stability, and public health improvements across Africa.
This lack of access contributes to severe public health challenges, including the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea, which have caused over 400,000 deaths annually on the continent, according to the WHO.
The economic cost of inadequate access to water and sanitation is also high. Inadequate sanitation alone results in losses of up to $5.5 billion per year in sub-Saharan Africa due to healthcare costs and lost productivity. However, investing in climate-resilient water and sanitation services could yield at least $7 in economic returns for every $1 spent.
“Water and sanitation infrastructure is fundamental to economic growth. Investing in it is not only a necessity, but good business sense. By securing funding for high-impact projects, we can create jobs, improve public health, and grow local economies,” said Mtchera Chirwa, Director for Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank and Coordinator of African Water Facility.
Beyond funding, the event will facilitate discussions on public-private partnerships, blended finance models, and innovative financing mechanisms to accelerate progress in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 – universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030.
Association of European Development Finance Institutions, CEO David Kuijper said. “As stakeholders in development, together, we have the resources to make transformative change happen.
The Association of European Development Finance Institutions values the partnership with the African Development Bank and African Water Facility to convene this event to find financial and technical resources for solutions through projects already on the market in Africa.”