Water Supply and Sanitation
The Government of Austria has committed one million euros in core funding to the African Water Facility to meet the growing demand for water and sanitation services in African countries. The funds will support African Development Bank Group regional member countries that the Facility supports in meeting national and regional goals to improve universal access to water and sanitation, in line with continental and international agenda such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The support from Austria comes at a time of significant demand for financial support and technical expertise from the African Water Facility to prepare water, sanitation and hygiene projects capable of generating investment downstream to close the gap in financing water and sanitation services in Africa. In April 2024, the Facility selected 80 projects into its rolling project pipeline from a submission of 416 proposals from Regional Member Countries. These projects have a total project preparation cost estimate of more than 300 million euros with the potential to generate over four billion euros in downstream investment and benefit 625 million people.
Mtchera Chirwa, African Development Bank Group Acting Director for Water Development and Sanitation and Coordinator of African Water Facility said, “We express our renewed appreciation to the Government of Austria for the generous support provided to the African Water Facility through this financial commitment. We look forward to continued collaboration in advancing Africa’s water and sanitation agenda and the development and equitable management of water resources for universal access to safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene services on the continent.”
The Government of Austria has been a strong supporter of the African Water Facility since it commenced operations in 2026. To date, it has provided 8 million euros to the Facility through its Ministry of Finance. This latest donation, which comes on the back of the African Water Facility’s Appeal for 2024 – 2034 to donors, governments, public and the private sector to invest in water and sanitation in Africa, will further aid the achievement of the Facility’s goal of improved quality of life for urban and rural communities.
With water and sanitation as one of our four priority sectors in multilateral cooperation, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance supports the sustainable promotion of the water sector in African countries due to its great social, economic and peace-keeping importance. The African Water Facility plays a key role in preparing bankable projects in the water and sanitation sector and consequently securing downstream investments for the implementation of these projects, which help us to achieve safe drinking water and sanitation for all,” said Harald Waiglein, Director General for Economic Policy and Financial Markets, Federal Ministry of Finance, Republic of Austria.
Since its establishment in 2004, the African Development Bank Group-hosted African Water Facility has mobilised 2.23 billion euros for 141 water and sanitation projects. These projects have improved access to sanitation for more than 10 million people, provided access to safe water supply for more than 20 million people, and equipped 1.23 million hectares for irrigation. The Facility’s current portfolio of 22 active projects, valued at 34 million euros and expected to result in 2.8 billion euros in downstream investment, will further benefit 23 million people across the continent.
Media contact
Mary Ajayi, Communication Specialist, Water Development and Sanitation Department, [email protected]