The African Development Bank Group unveiled its 2026–2030 African Water Facility Strategy at Cairo Water Week on October 27, 2026. The new framework seeks to accelerate project preparation, boost regional investment, and bridge a severe continental infrastructure deficit ahead of the upcoming United Nations Water Conference.
Cairo Water Week Launch and the 2026–2030 Strategy
Meeting during Cairo Water Week in Egypt, African leaders and development partners gathered for a high-level advocacy event to chart a new course for the continent’s water security. Co-chaired by the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Senegal, the October 27 session featured the official rollout of the 2026-2030 African Water Facility Strategy.
The initiative, established by the African Ministers’ Council on Water and managed by the African Development Bank Group, acts as a preparatory engine. It helps nations build bankable infrastructure by funding feasibility studies, technical designs, and tender documents before major construction begins. The Bank participated in Cairo Water Week from 25 to 29 October under the theme Water as a Catalyst for Peace, Shared Prosperity, and a Sustainable Planet,
presenting the strategy on Tuesday, 27 October, at a high-level Advocacy and Call for Support Event.
The strategy supports the implementation of the African Union’s Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy
and aligns with the African Development Bank Group’s Four Cardinal Points strategic vision, which prioritizes unlocking Africa’s capital and building resilient infrastructure and competitive value chains.
Africa’s water security cannot depend on external financing alone. African countries must take a stronger role in financing the preparation of their own priority water and sanitation investments. The new African Water Facility Strategy provides a practical mechanism to turn the ambitions of the ‘Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy’ into well-prepared projects that can attract public and private investment.
H.E. Prof. Dr Hani Sewilam, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and Chair of the African Water Facility Governing Council
According to Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Director of the Water Development and Sanitation Department at the African Development Bank, financial inputs from African nations toward the Facility can support this vital groundwork and advance a greater number of projects into the execution stage.
Funding Deficits and the $30 Billion Gap
Behind the new strategy lies a stark financial reality. Continental water and sanitation requirements face an annual funding deficit exceeding $30 billion, according to the African Ministers’ Council on Water. Just 26 percent of minimum regional water needs are met at present, creating a deficit that strips impacted countries of as much as 2 percent of their yearly Gross Domestic Product.
Tobias Schmidt, who serves as the chief editor of The Water Diplomat, noted that past goals—such as allocating 1 percent of national budgets to water infrastructure—have fallen short due to rapid urbanization and escalating climate impacts.
To combat these hurdles, the 2026–2030 strategy outlines a core funding requirement of EUR 75–120 million over five years for the African Water Facility itself, alongside USD 300 million designated to capitalise the African Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative.
Facility's 152 Projects Mobilize $1.9B Financing
The newly launched roadmap builds upon the facility’s operational history. Established in 2004, the facility began active operations in 2006 by supporting the creation of the Volta River Basin Authority. Over its lifespan, it has approved 152 projects and provided approximately €220 million in grants, leveraging those funds to mobilize more than €1.9 billion in supplementary financing.
Reflecting on Egypt’s leadership of the facility’s governing council for the 2025-2027 term, Sewilam mentioned that Cairo had successfully urged African governments to assist in its funding, secured financial backing from Germany, and issued a new call for project proposals for 2026. He also emphasized the BCLEAR programme, which is designed to train 100 African specialists, with upwards of 2,000 individuals anticipated to draw benefits from its initiatives. Egypt’s leadership of the facility’s governing council for the term has also yielded bilateral milestones, while the African Water Facility has approved 152 projects and provided approximately €220 million in grants.
Private Sector Partnerships and the Road to Abu Dhabi
Mobilizing domestic capital and engaging private enterprise forms a cornerstone of the new framework. Alongside institutional lenders like the African Development Bank, industrial networks are stepping up. Jean-Paul Adam, representing the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, stressed that long-term industrial growth depends on close partnerships with institutional investors like the African Development Bank and local private businesses.
Because roughly 90 percent of Africa’s freshwater resources are shared across national borders, management of transboundary river basins—historically illustrated by Southern Africa’s SADC protocols and West Africa’s collaborative dam governance on the Senegal and Gambia rivers—acts as an essential framework for regional stability and industrial integration.
