Events
The African Water Facility and African Development Bank, are proud to announce their key role as a sponsor and participant in the Third African Implementation and Partnership Conference on Water (PANAFCON 3), taking place from 27 – 29 May 2025 at the Mulungushi Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia.
Held under the theme, “Assuring inclusive and climate resilient water security and sanitation for the Africa We Want,” the conference represents an important milestone in Africa’s efforts to advance its water and sanitation agenda beyond 2025. Organized as part of the PANAFCON series, this multistakeholder dialogue platform convenes African Union Member States, international development partners, private sector actors, civil society, and academia to shape a renewed water vision and policy for the continent.
The African Water Facility will actively engage stakeholders across various sessions, contributing to the formulation of its 2026–2030 Strategy and to shaping the Post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy. This vision aims to place water and sanitation at the heart of Africa’s sustainable transformation and in alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
“This gathering is not merely a conference. It is a strategic turning point in our shared pursuit of a sustainable, water-secure Africa,” said Mtchera Chirwa, Director for Water Development and Sanitation and head of the Bank-AWF delegation. “We are at a critical juncture, with pressures from rapid population growth, urbanization, and climate change escalating across the continent. This conference is a call to action to reaffirm of our commitment to more inclusive, integrated, and innovative water governance.”
The Africa Water Vision 2025, launched in 2000, provided a solid foundation for progress. However, with growing and evolving demands for water and sanitation services on the continent, there is an urgent need to rethink strategies, bridge the financing gap which stands at an estimated $40–50 billion annually, and fully embrace the economic potential of the water and sanitation sector, including the emerging sanitation economy.
At the three-day conference, the Bank Group and African Water Facility will host high-level dialogues and engage in consultations with partners and different stakeholders in Africa’s water sector to ensure that the post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy is practical, fit for purpose, and responsive to Africa’s evolving needs for safe water and sustainable sanitation services. These deliberations are expected to result in the adoption of the Post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy by the African Union Heads of State and Government in February 2026, inform the development Water Supply and Sanitation Strategic Action Plan for 2026 to 2030 and African Water Facility’s new strategy for the same period.
For more information about the conference, visit here.
Media contact: Mary Temiloluwa Ajayi, Communications and External Relations Department, [email protected]