The International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa has started development of an Investment Action Plan for mobilising an additional US$30billion/year towards African water and sanitation. The Investment Action Plan will be released later in 2023.
The Investment Action Plan will support the implementation of the High-Level Panel’s landmark report, Africa’s Rising Investment Tide, which was released on World Water Day, 22 March 2023 during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York and has been named a significant outcome of the event.
The Panel’s report outlines three pathways to secure an additional US$30 billion achieve water security and sustainable sanitation in Africa by 2030 on the continent:
- Pathway 1. Achieve more impactful water spending and financial leveraging
- Pathway 2. Mobilise Domestic Resources
- Pathway 3. Secure Global and Continental Investment and Finance
“The Investment Action Plan will detail specific actions needed to mobilize financing for African water and sanitation, the levels at which these actions are required, and the responsible persons to implement those actions,” said Mr. Alex Simalabwi, Director of the High-Level Panel Secretariat during a kick-off meeting for the Plan’s development on 11 July.
Sources of funding Africa’s water and sanitation
The kick-off meeting was convened with the African Union Commission, and attended by nine task teams to align to the potential sources of finances for water and sanitation investment in Africa:
- Bilateral ODA and philanthropy
- African Government Budgets
- Institutional investors
- National banks, microfinance institutions, local governments
- Valuing water-related risks and internalising the environmental costs
- Pollution and mineral resource taxes
- Sector governance: Efficiency gains and cost savings
- Multilateral climate funds
- Multilateral and Development Finance Institutions
“There are nine financing sources identified in the High-Level Panel’s report. These are outlined in the water investment pyramid – also referred to as the AIP Pyramid of Transformation – which also shows the total estimated value of funding that is available; and the potential funding that could be mobilized or leveraged,” said Mr. Simalabwi.
The task teams are made up of agencies and experts recognized for their leadership in the topic. The main output of each task team is a list of key actions and interventions that need to be implemented to achieve the resource mobilization targets proposed by the AIP Pyramid of Transformation by 2030. During the kick-off meeting, the task teams held discussions in groups through which they developed the required list of recommendations on key actions and interventions.
The Plan will include details on investment opportunities, projects and programs that exist but need financing as well as investment sources.
“The Plan would also focus on the Investment Action Framework which is the main part of the report. This chapter will provide detailed actions for each investment source which provide the right enabling environment and remove key bottlenecks, naming the responsible actors, estimating approximate costs, and proposing key milestones that need to be achieved,” said Mr. Simalabwi.
The task teams will meet again virtually on 19th and 26th July to continue to develop a list of actions and refine them as well as finalize the lists of actions for inclusion in main Investment Action Plan.
Headline photo: Frans van Heerden via Pexels