In a continent where water scarcity and limited access to basic sanitation services affect millions of people, the African Water Vision 2025 was formulated as a strategic framework to address the water-related challenges on the African continent.
The purpose of this strategic framework is to guide African countries towards a future where water resources are managed efficiently and fairly, while promoting access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and environmental conservation, and in so doing, contributing to the continent’s overall economic and social development.
What are the main objectives of the African Water Vision 2025?
- To ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation. On the one hand, by improving water supply infrastructure; and on the other by promoting fair access with policies that prioritize vulnerable and marginalized populations.
- To improve water management and governance. Creating and strengthening water management and regulatory bodies at the national and local levels, and developing and updating legislation to regulate water use and its conservation.
- To promote the sustainable use of water resources through reforestation programs, watershed protection, and wetland restoration to maintain the natural hydrological cycle, as well as by promoting efficient irrigation techniques and less water-dependent crops.
- To offer training and capacity building programs for water managers, local communities and other key stakeholders, and to promote research in the field of water resources and the application of innovative technologies that improve water use efficiency.
- To strengthen regional and transboundary cooperation, both for shared river basin management and to develop platforms for dialogue and mechanisms for resolving water-related disputes.
How can these objectives be achieved?
The most essential factor is to invest in water infrastructure, both water supply and sanitation systems – wells, rainwater harvesting systems, treatment plants – and storage and distribution systems. This will ensure a continuous supply of water, even in periods of drought.
However, the above step will not be possible without institutional and political reform to improve operational efficiency and ensure that processes are transparent and participatory, and without also ensuring the implementation of policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage water conservation, such as tariffs for consumption and subsidies for water-saving technologies.
Education also plays a crucial role in improving access to safe drinking water, from awareness campaigns on the importance of water and the need for its conservation, aimed at all levels of society, to the development of educational curricula and training programs focused on sustainable water management and hygiene.
And of course, fostering research in areas such as desalination, water recycling, and water quality monitoring technologies, in addition to implementing geographic information systems (GIS), sensors, and water management models that improve decision making and water resource management.
Barriers to the implementation of the African Water Vision 2025
But while extremely necessary, it is not proving easy to achieve the targets that were set in the initial African Water Vision 2025 document. What factors are posing a barrier?
- Climate change is leading to, among other things, increased variability in rainfall and an increase in extreme weather events.
- Population growth makes it difficult to plan and manage the increased demand for water.
- Financing remains the cornerstone of these projects; it is necessary to identify and secure funding sources that include public and private funds as well as international cooperation.
- Promoting regional cooperation is also necessary to prevent and resolve water-related conflicts, which are still occurring today.
The ultimate goal of the African Water Vision 2025 is a future in which every African community, from bustling metropolises to remote rural villages, have access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation services. A goal with which Welysis is fully aligned.
Our electrolysis plants for the local production of sodium hypochlorite, an essential disinfectant for water treatment, not only provide the resources to ensure the quality and safety of drinking water, but also strengthen water infrastructure and contribute to local social and economic development. The challenges of a more equitable and sustainable water future for everyone in Africa are also our own challenges.
More information
The African Water Vision 2025 was launched in March 2000. The result of collaboration between several key organizations, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), along with other international agencies and development partners. The document was presented and adopted during the Second World Water Forum, held at The Hague, in the Netherlands.
