Water and Sanitation for Life: Harnessing Water Resources for the Africa We Want - Africa Dialogue Series 2026, High-level Policy Dialogue

Excellency distinguished delegates, dear colleagues, and of course, our esteemed young leaders.
Good morning and a warm welcome to all of you to this high level policy dialogue on the Africa Dialogue Series 2026.
It's Friday and so we know many people are traveling, but I want to say for those who managed to come in, thank you for being here.
We're going to have a good time and that's a promise.
The African Union leaders proclaimed 2026 this year the Year of Water Sustainability.
It's quite fitting that this year's dialogue series is held under the theme Water and Sanitation for Life.
Harnessing water resources for the Africa we want.
The purpose here really is to sound a note of urgency in accelerating progress towards goal six, but also all the other related goals and the aspirations of Agenda 2063.
The Africa Dialogue Series has over the years, established itself as an inclusive platform for shaping Africa focused policy conversations at a global level.
I would say that at no time in our history, Is this platform more relevant than today when we're witnessing multiple transitions, but also a largely fragmented global order with quite serious implications for the continent of Africa? ADS brings together policymakers, regional and international institutions, academia, civil society, and critically ensures that young people and women are part of the conversation.
The inclusion of youth is an imperative because we're dealing with a largely young region.
Empowering young people as leaders and innovators and shapers of the future in governing water, sanitation, and hygiene will help to bring success to this.
This inclusive consultation space is central to the value that ADS delivers.
It enables dialogue grounded in diverse perspectives, evidence, and the on the ground realities, while also fostering shared ownership of the solutions.
This year's discussions excellencies are particularly timely as they contribute directly to the global momentum that's leading up to the United Nations Water Conference, which will be held in December.
It's being co organized by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.
In this context, ADS 2026 serves as an important bridge that helps elevate Africa's priorities generate policy relevant insights and strengthen alignment between continental frameworks such as Agenda 26 63 and the global processes, particularly on water and sanitation and more broadly on the sustainable development goals.
Across Africa, we know that water and sanitation are not only basic human needs or utilities to be managed within the confines of simple project cycles.
In fact, through this year's dialogue, we are rethinking how we approach water and sanitation.
We have seen slow progress on the continent.
As about 40% of people have access to safe drinking safely managed drinking water now, and roughly 30% access to sanitation.
But since water security underpins 75% of employment in sectors such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing and construction, we can see how this year's theme can catalyze Africa's economic transformation.
Every child, every woman, every village, and every community accesses reliable and affordable water, we are charging Africa's engine for inclusive growth.
Throughout the last couple of weeks, we have been highlighting water and sanitation as strategic enablers of health, of economic transformation of food security, of energy systems, and of peace.
Harnessing their catalytic nature, we have been advocating for a strategic asset management approach to water and sanitation.
As USG Date, who is in the room here stated at the outset, water is not a service delivery problem to be managed with donor funding.
It is a sovereign asset to be governed with strategic intent.
Today's session is the culmination of all these dialogues we have had over these past three weeks and we're setting the stage today for how we collectively unlock these opportunities through strengthened partnerships, investments, and policy innovation.
I'm really inviting you to open up your minds and shift from thinking about wash in a little projects here and there to looking at a systems shift.
That will make immense contribution to what happens next on the continent of Africa with regards to sustainable development.
It's now my honor to invite His Excellency, Mr.
Mohammed Idris, the ambassador and permanent observer of the African Union to the United Nations to deliver his welcome remarks and to moderate the very first session, high level session.
Excellency, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Thank you very much, my dear sister EG Aja, for setting the stage eloquently for this high level policy dialogue.
It's a great honor to be on this stage with the distinguished personalities present and with all of you, and again, happy Africa Day and happy to see you again after seeing many of you in our celebration yesterday of Africa Day at the New York City Hall.
Let me start by, of course, acknowledging and welcoming the presence of Her Excellency PGA, Her Excellency DSG, Excellency Og Dary, una, and Sinwch PRs around, and the youth ambassador on my left and every one of you present in this hall.
It is my distinct honor and privilege to welcome you all to the high level policy dialogue of the Africa Dialogue Series 2026.
Convened under the theme, Water and Sanitation for Life, harnessing water resources for the Africa W.
Allow me at the outset to express sincere appreciation to the Office of the Special Adviser of Africa on Africa, our partners across the United Nations system, the African Union Commission, member states, development partners, youth representatives, civil society, academia, and all stakeholders whose commitment has made this important gathering possible.
I also wish to warmly welcome and thank the President of the General Assembly, Her Excellency, miss Alea Berbck, the Secretary-General, the United Nations, His Excellency, Mr.
António Guterres, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, his Ecellcy Mahmoud Al Yusuf, and the Deputy Secretary-General of De Sister miss Amina Mohammed, for their continued engagement and leadership on Africa's development priorities.
Excellency is the African Union's 2026 team of the year, assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 263 reflects both urgency and opportunity.
It recognizes that water and sanitation are not merely social services, they are as well strategic assets at the heart of Africa's economic transformation, industrialization, public health, food security, energy generation, environmental sustainability, and peace building efforts.
Despite important progress across the continent, major challenges remain.
While access to safe drinking water in Africa reached approximately 81% by 2023 and sanitation access 59%, millions of Africans, particularly in rural areas still lack access to safely managed water and sanitation systems.
Climate change, rapid urbanization, demographic growth, and increasing water stress continue to place enormous pressure on national systems and institutions.
This is precisely why ADS 2026 has adopted a strategic asset management approach, a paradigm shift that calls for managing water resources as productive and transformative assets capable of generating long term economic, social, environmental, and peace dividends.
Over the course of this month, the Africa Dialogue Series has explored three interconnected sub themes.
First, a strategic asset management approach to Africa's water resources.
Second, water and sanitation as drivers for economic transformation and sustainable urbanization.
Third, water and sanitation for peace, energy, and food security.
These discussions have highlighted the centrality of the water energy food system, the water energy food ecosystem nexus, the importance of resilient and inclusive infrastructure, and the need for stronger governance, financing, innovation, and transboundary cooperation.
Excellency, Africa possesses immense water potential, yet over 90% of the continent's surface water resources are transboundary in nature.
This reality requires strengthened cooperation, solidarity, and collective stewardship.
It also requires placing young people and women.
At the center of policy and implementation efforts, as emphasized throughout ADS 2026, inclusive governance, intergenerational equity, and youth leadership will be indispensable to achieving sustainable and resilient water system across the continent.
Today's high level policy dialogue also represents an important milestone in advancing Africa's common priorities ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.
Africa is not only confronting water related challenges, it is also bringing forward solutions, innovation, and partnerships capable of shaping global discussions on sustainable water governance.
We are honored today to be joined by distinguished leaders and partners whose engagement reflects the growing recognition that water security and safe sanitation are fundamental to sustainable development, resilience, peace, and shared prosperity.
As we commence this dialogue today, let me move beyond declarations towards actionable partnerships, sustainable financing, strengthened institutions, and integrated approaches capable of delivering concrete results for our peoples.
Let us reaffirm in conclusion that ensuring water security and safe sanitation is not only a development imperative.
It is a prerequisite for dignity, prosperity, resilience, and lasting peace and better future for our peoples in Africa.
I thank you and it's now my pleasure to move to the rest of the program of today, and I first would like to have the honor to invite Her Excellency, miss Annalena Perbok president of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly to make her statements.
Most wecier.
Thank you very much.
Good morning, your Excellency's distinguished delegates, DSG, ASG, and many experienced experts, especially in the further panel discussions we are having here, DAU delegates.
Happy Africa Day and I'm very thankful to be invited at this high level policy dialogue, including this year's Africa Dialogue series under the theme Water Sanitation for Life, harnessing water resources for the Africa we want.
The theme speaks as so brilliantly underlined by UNP's ASG Ana, to the heart of Africa's development agenda because water shapes almost every part of our life and is the ambition the continent has set for itself from public health and education, from agriculture and food security to energy production, industrialization, and economic diversification.
However, progress across these areas depends on resolving one of the most frustrating paradoxes facing the continent on which I would like to focus at the beginning.
From the Nile to the Congo to the Niger Rivers, Africa possesses significant freshwater resources, including major rivers, lakes, and groundwater reserves.
Yet, hundreds of millions of people across the continent still lack access to safe water and sanitation.
Water insecurity then steams from more than natural scarcity.
Across the continent, the challenge lies in the gaps that prevent water from reaching people reliably and safely.
Gaps in access infrastructure governance and management and distribution.
These challenges are being exacerbated by the climate crisis, which is bringing more droughts, more floods, and more unpredictable rainfall.
Population growth and rapid urbanization also increase demand faster than system can expand and deliver.
These pressures widen development divides and deepen social and economic inequalities.
The burden falls heaviest on poorer households and especially on women and girls as mentioned, who often bear the greatest cost when safe water remains distant, unreliable, and unavailable.
Yet, as with every SDG, ending this injustice and delivering on SDG six clean water and sanitation is not only an act of charity or bringing justice to the people.
It is also an economic case for addressing water insecurity as a clear interest of all.
Every dollar invested in water supply and sanitation in Africa can generate $7 in return.
With adequate funding, the sector could boost gross domestic product by 5%, generating an annual economic gain of $200 billion across the continent.
Those returns would be felt across Africa's economies, especially in sectors that depend on reliable water from agriculture and mining to energy and industry.
Better water and sanitation systems strengthen productivity, protect livelihoods, reduce health costs, and make economies more resilient.
The social case is just as strong.
Limited access to water remains one of the clearest drivers of gender inequality because it turns the basic service gap into a daily tax on women's and girls time, safety, and opportunity.
Across Sub Saharan Africa, women and girls collectively spend around 16 million hours each day fetching water.
Those journeys are often long, physically demanding, and isolating, exposing women and girls not only to lost time and exhaustion, but also to high risk of harassment, sexual violence, and assault.
They are also hours lost from education, paid work, enterprise, family life, and public participation.
Expanding access to safe water and sanitation therefore advances gender equality and inclusion while unlocking economic opportunity.
Our task is to turn this water paradox into water security.
That begins with investments.
Governments, development banks and private partners need to scale up climate resilient water infrastructure, including storage, treatment, irrigation, sanitation, and distribution systems at a pace that match growing demands.
But investments also need to go hand in hand with better management.
Agriculture, energy, industry, and urban development all depend on the same resource.
Planning in each area must take into account the others as well.
That in turn requires stronger institutions.
Governance gaps weaken water management, limit access to safe and sustainable services, and prevent communities from benefiting fully from the resources already available to them.
Financing and partnerships should also match the scale of the challenge.
Public finance, development banks, private investment, and blended finance all have a role to play.
Again, therefore, our discussions today are heavily interconnected to the discussions in other forums and high level meetings, for example, our discussions on beyond GDP or delivering on the civilian commitments.
Across all these efforts, science, technology, and reliable data should guide planning, strengthen decision making, and improve delivery.
The United Nations Water Conference this December gives the international community an important opportunity to accelerate progress on sustainable development goal and strengthen the more coordinated, ambitious, and inclusive global water agenda for all and especially for the African continent.
In this regard, I commend the Republic of Segal, together with the United Arab Emirates for their leadership as co host of the conference.
Africa's water paradox is serious, but it can be solved.
The continent has the resources, the need is clear, the economic and social returns are undeniable.
With sustained investments, stronger institutions, better planning, deeper cooperation, and the political will by all, water and sanitation can become a foundation for health, dignity, opportunity, and resilience, a driver for the Africa we want, but also a delivery on the promises this United Nations made 80 years ago.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, sings PGA, for your speech and allow me here also to commend your presence and engagement and also share what I heard from many colleagues commending your engagement and the presence in many events at different levels and different formats.
Really, this is really appreciated.
Thank you very much.
Now, we move to the next segment in this high level engagement, and we are going to have a video message don't say His Excellency, because if I say His Excellency, António Guterres, then if any one of you will tell him, I will be fined $100.
I will not say.
I'll just say SG António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations video message.
Most welcome.
This year's Africa Dialogue series is focused on a critical issue, water and sanitation.
Water is life supporting health, economies, and development and Africa is rich in this vital resource, but lack of investment and gaps in governance are keeping millions of Africans from the safely managed water and sanitation services they need and deserve.
It's time to give this issue the attention it requires and put these basic human rights within reach of every person.
Through stronger domestic resource mobilization and sustained investment in the sector's infrastructure and management, by reducing the cost of capital and helping African countries access funds, debt relief, and public private partnerships, by ensuring adaptation finance reaches African countries that urgently need to build resilience to worsening climate impacts, including through water security, and by massively investing in the continent's electrification and transition to renewable energy to power Africa's growth and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
This dialogue can play a catalytic role in ensuring Africa's water wealth becomes what it was meant to be a foundation of health, productivity, dignity, and gender equality, a pillar of economic and human progress, and the vital pathway to help achieve the Africa we want.
Let's work as one to ensure the strategic asset is developed, managed and protected for Africans today and tomorrow.
We thank so much Secretaria António Guterres, a pro African in heart and mind.
Now, thanks to the technology, we can have another video message from the chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excelleny Mahmoud Ali Yusuf.
Your Excellcy is the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, distinguished delegates, all protocol observed.
It is both with the privilege and the profound responsibility to address this esteemed Assembly today as we gather to discuss a matter of utmost importance for the future of our continent, water and sanitation.
The theme of this high level policy dialogue, harnessing water resources for Africa, for the Africa we want, encapsulates the collective ambition of the African Union and our partners to ensure that every African has access to clean water and sanitation, essential for our health, dignity, and sustainable development.
This theme is in alignment with the African Union theme of the year 2026, assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.
The highly attended policy dialogue provides an annual African Union United Nations platform for inclusive and interactive forward looking forum for policymakers, women and youth to exchange ideas and develop actionable strategies to accelerate Africa's development policy dialogue on Africa.
It seeks to amplify a new narrative for Africa from Africa and foster global consensus on innovative solutions to achieve the Africa Agenda 2063 and the 2030 agenda of the United Nations.
While Africa has made steady progress towards Africa Agenda 2063, water and sanitation targets and the United Nations Agenda 2030 for sustainable development goals, the overall gains still fall short of these targets.
The three sub themes chosen for discussions during this policy dialogue will address the issues on, number one, a strategic asset management approach to A, Africa's water resources.
Second, water and sanitation as drivers for economic transformation and sustainable urbanization, and third, water and sanitation for peace, energy, and food security.
This will go a long way to help address some of the challenges Africa is facing in the areas of water and sanitation.
Dear participant.
Water is not merely a resource, it is a lifeline.
It is intertwined with our aspirations for the Africa we want.
I would like to invite you to take time during your meeting to reflect on the following key actions.
We must commit to ensuring equitable access to water and sanitation services for all.
In particular, marginalized communities, women and children.
This requires innovative policies and investment in infrastructure.
Second, effective governance of our water resource necessitates a holistic approach that integrates various sectors.
We must foster collaboration among governments, civil society, and the private sector to develop sustainable practices.
Third, as we harness our water resources, we must also build resilience against climate variability.
This involves investing in technologies and practices that enhance water conservation and promote efficient usage.
The COVID 19 pandemic and other contagious diseases have highlighted the critical link between water sanitation and public health.
Ensuring access to clean water and proper sanitation is vital for safeguarding our communities against future health crises.
Local communities must be at the heart of our water management strategies.
Empowering them through education and participation will certainly ensure the sustainability of our efforts.
In conclusion, let us seize this opportunity to share knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions.
Together, we can forge partnerships that will enable us to transform our water resources into a catalyst for sustainable development.
The African Union stands ready to collaborate with all stakeholders to realize our shared vision for the raft before in Africa, where every individual enjoys the right to water and sanitation.
I wish you fruitful discussions, and I thank you.
We thank the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Exen Modal Yusuf, and I know he was keen to deliver this message despite pressing engagements and hectic traffics.
Let me now move to our keynote speech.
Keynote speech will be by our dear sister.
This is Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The floor is yours, my dear sister.
Thank you, Ambassador.
The President of the General Assembly, Her Excellency, Annealina Baerbock, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Muhammad Ali Yussuf, Excellency', distinguished participants, brothers and sisters.
I want to begin with expressing my deep appreciation to the African Union Permanent Observer Mission, the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, and the partners who have lifted and contributed to this dialogue series throughout the month.
The Secretary-General has set out the stakes in his video remarks.
As we engage in the theme harnessing water for the Africa we want, let me share with you where I think Africa could go from here.
I came to this conversation years ago as Minister of the Environment in Nigeria.
The politics of water and what was happening to Lake Chad was on the desk of every minister in the neighborhood.
Anyone who has worked on water knows that it's never only just about water.
It might be health, sanitation, climate, food, or energy, justice or women's empowerment, equality, peace or security, or in many cases, all at the same time.
Hold that in mind as we look at where the continent stands today.
Africa holds 9% of the world's freshwater, yet water is not distributed evenly across the continent and a majority of the continent's freshwater is under stress from population growth, agriculture, poor infrastructure, climate change, and often access is impeded by the conflicts.
Some regions, severe seasonal scarcity is known as a reality with one in three Africans living in a water scarce region.
This year, we will have the El Ninu and it could be a super El Ninu that is going to make things worse for us with floods, but also with heat temperatures that we would not have seen in our history.
Picture the over 400 million Africans that are lacking basic water services and over 300 million Africans lacking access to safe drinking water.
That reveals a region that is not in command of the governance, management, and equitable distribution, nor finance of its own resources and our people are paying every day for that gap.
Let's begin by getting to the root causes.
What gets called water scarcity is often on closer inspection, a systems failure, systems failures that have drivers, but they also have fixes.
The fix begins with treating water for what it is, a strategic asset of this continent to be planned, financed, and governed across decades in service of the economic transformation of Africa.
That means planning for the household and the economy in the same breadth.
The river that fills the tap also keeps girls going to school, irrigates the farm, cools the data centers, and powers the turbine.
Govern water well and every other sector compounds, govern it badly, and every other sector pays the bill.
The room for error is narrowing because the pressures on African water systems are growing day by day.
Africa will soon become home to the youngest and fastest growing population in the world.
That rising population has a rising demand for equal rights, energy, food to match against a climate backdrop that grows more unpredictable and more devastating with every year.
Against the backdrop, the water systems Africa has built for the last century cannot deliver for the next one.
The Africa Water Vision and Policy 2063 give the continent a framework equal to that complexity, so we have the tools.
The work in front of this room is to give that framework the political muscle to deliver.
I'd like to focus on four areas today, governance, financing, equity, peace and security.
Governance comes first.
Water systems are a hard test of institutions because they expose whether planning, finance, maintenance, and accountability are working in the same direction.
90% of Africa's surface water sits in 63 shared basins, and not one of those basins respects a national border.
The governance of African water is by its nature, a continental project.
It has to function locally, nationally, and regionally all at once.
That's not easy, but it is something that this continent has done before and can do again.
The continent has laid the foundations for integrated architecture and solid platforms for discussions and the agreements that water now demands.
The African Ministers Council on Water, the Basins Organizations, Auden Nepad are crucial foundations that already exist and they must be resourced and trusted to lead.
13 African countries have gone further still becoming parties to the UN Water Convention.
The second financing.
You cannot build a 50 year water system on five year money.
The investment gap in African water and sanitation is estimated to up to 1 trillion over the next 15 years.
This is a formidable number, but as President of the African Development Bank has been making the case, a vast amount of African capital is already sitting in financial institutions.
1-4 trillion of African owned capital sits in banks and sovereign wealth funds outside Africa.
That money could be building water systems in the countries that came from if the conditions were in place to bring it home.
Strengthening Africa's financial architecture, including by harmonizing regulations across borders and investing in public facilities, in public institutions, and in local infrastructure and capacities is going to be central to creating those conditions.
Investments in water are by their nature, a long horizon.
It makes sense that they are financed in part through credit, and this is precisely where the international financial system fails Africa.
African countries borrow at rates many times higher than advanced economies for risk that does not justify the premium, despite domestic fundamentals that are often comparable.
That premium falls hardest on exactly the kind of patient long term infrastructure that water demands.
The answer is twofold.
First, you must continue to push for reform of the international financial architecture so that the cost of capital reflects reality and not bias.
We must also make full use of the new suite of risk instruments that are now available, local finance, guarantees, debt pause clauses, blended finance, public private partnerships that are properly structured.
They can stretch every development dollar further and they can bring private capital into these projects.
But what no instrument can do is substitute for the national frameworks that give investors clarity and governments the room to plan past the next election.
The third, water is an issue of justice and equality.
The burden of a failed water system, as with many things, falls on the shoulders of women and girls disproportionately.
This is what we're talking about when we talk about Africa's water gap, a generation of African girls that are spending hours of their childhood walking to a borehole and back when they should be in a classroom.
Those hours compound into years lost, education that is erased and a lifetime of missed opportunity.
This is a loss for every girl, but it is a greater loss for Africa and its potential.
The same can be said of other people, water systems leave behind, people with disabilities planning around rather than planning for indigenous communities, bearing the consequences of decisions taken out of their hands.
Rural populations while cities are served.
Informal settlements served last or not at all.
Ultimately, a water system must be measured by who reaches the top and that means leaving absolutely no one behind.
Finally, I would like to speak about peace and security.
Peace and security cannot be purchased through a defense budget.
It is built through legitimate governance, functioning services, and a social contract that people believe in.
Water sits at the center of that contract.
Across this continent, water has been both a source of cooperation and a source of tension.
A shared river or lake can be the shortest distance between two governments or the longest.
When water systems fail, whether because of lack of planning or the unrelenting climate pressure, the consequences move quickly into the security domain, driving displacement, sharpening competition for resources, and fueling instability.
But Africa has also done harder thing too, put water in the service of peace.
Here, I would like to commend the Senegal River Basin Organization for demonstrating what happens when states manage shared water through trust and mutual benefit.
There are other examples across Africa that carry the same lesson.
Water for corporation must be treated as core peace infrastructure on this continent.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen of December, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates will cohost the 2026 UN Water Conference in the UAE.
It'll be the second time in three years the water has come together on water at this level of ambition.
December cannot be another moment for diagnosis.
This must lay the groundwork for building the future of water in multilateralism with impact to deliver on national and global water initiatives that are aligned with the 2030 agenda and the 2063 agenda.
This dialogue should help sharpen Africa's proposition for December.
We must be financed, what needs to be governed differently? What institutions must be strengthened and how to address water across all sectors, working with private, local, and community leaders? What countries must do to build a future multilateral process? What African countries can do across borders and basins with the assets already in their hands.
The United Nations system will stand behind that work through our technical support, our sustained partnerships, the leadership of the Secretary-General special envoy on water, and the work of UN Water and other partners represented in this room.
With the right choices now, this vital resource can become a source of dignity, stability, a shared prosperity that all Africans deserve.
I wish us all a fruitful dialogue.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, distinguished Deputy Secretary-General, for this comprehensive illuminating keynote speech.
The next segment is setting the stage.
I think the stage has already been set.
So let's say taking the stage forward and you have distinguished speakers, and as you know, this session is scheduled 10-11, so I am sure our se speakers will take this into consideration and we'll start by my dear brother, His Excellency, Ambassador Kolick, ambassador and permanent representative of Senegal to the United Nations, my dear brother.
It may seem more fair.
Thank you very much, Brother Rast Idris.
Excellencies, Madam President of the General Assembly, Madame DSG, distinguished ambassadors.
Dear guests, I was saying to the DSG that I could have perhaps not delivered my speech being as she picked up on so many of the things that I wanted to say.
But it is an honor for Senegal to participate in the high level political dialogue of the Africa Dialogue Series of 2026, organized around the African Union's theme for 2026, ensuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of the sustainable development goals.
Senegal attaches paramount importance to water and sanitation.
Beyond the specific sectorial challenges that they present, they are also essential elements for human dignity, public health, and as well as for resilience, stability, and development.
Excellencies.
The main challenge that we are facing today about technic is not something that we need technical solutions for.
The real challenge is financing.
The needs are vast and the effects of climate change are worsening.
The pressure on water resources is increasing.
However, investment on water and sanitation remains insufficient, particularly in Africa.
This financing deficit directly compromises the achievement of SDG six, but also many other SDGs linked to health, food security, energy, education, and climate resilience.
Water should not simply be looked at as a secondary issue in international arbitration because it is a real essential factor for stability and sus development.
That's why this year's topic for the Africa Dialogue Series is particularly relevant.
Invites us to consider water not simply as a public service, but as a strategic tool that requires sustainable funding and effective governance.
Well in this spirit, Senate Gal fully supports the approach for strategic asset management, which includes water infrastructure in a long term vision, covering planning, maintenance, resilience, and renewal.
But this approach requires a lot more ambition on the financial front.
We should strengthen national public investment, improve access to concessional financing, as well as mobilize further mobilizing multilateral development banks and also encourage innovative mechanisms, particularly green and blue bonds.
We should also build institutional capacity systems for data and governance mechanisms so that we can guarantee effective use, as well as the transparent use of these resources have been mobilized.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
The African Union's designation of 2026 as the Year of Water sustainability offers a major opportunity to place this issue at the center of the international agenda.
In this spirit, I would like to recall the importance of the UN Water Conference, which will be held in December, from Oeptember eighth to the tenth in 2026 in Abu Dhabi, co hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.
We really hope this conference will allow us to take an important step towards concrete commitments and increased mobilization for water and sanitation.
Water related challenges today are both financial and development related.
Investing in water means investing in peace, health, food security, climate resilience, and also the future of all of our people.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, my dear brother, Ambassador Kolsek.
Let me now give the floor to my dear brother, Ambassador Samuel, ambassador and permanent Psative of Ghana to the United Nations.
F is yours, my brother.
Thank you very much, the Ambassador Idris, permanent observer of the African Union to the United Nations.
Excellency, President of the General Assembly, Deputy Secretary-General, Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to join you for this high level policy dialogue of the 2026 Africa Dialogue Series.
I wish to commend the Office of Special Adviser on Africa, the permanent observer mission of the African Union to the United Nations and all partners for convening this important platform for reflection, exchange of ideas, and the adoption of concrete proposals for collective action.
The Africa Dialogue Series has over the years, become a valuable platform for bringing Africa's priorities to the center of global discourse.
Last year, it helped amplify the call for repriety justice for Africans and people of African descent, a call which gained further momentum this year through a historic General Assembly resolution recognizing the gravity of the transatlantic slave trade in enslaved Africans.
This year, the series thanks to water and sanitation for life with a focus on harnessing water resources for the Africa we want.
It invites us to consider how water can be better managed, financed, and protected as a foundation for public health, resilience, economic transformation, and sustainable development.
As we begin our deliberations, it is important to recognize that water and sanitation must no longer be viewed only as basic social services.
They are strategic assets and core economic infrastructure directly linked to public health, food security, agriculture, energy generation, industrialization, sustainable urbanization, peace, and climate resilience.
This perspective is especially important as Africa's cities continue to grow rapidly, bringing increased demand for housing, jobs, services, and resilient infrastructure.
Water and sanitation sit at the center of that equation.
Without adequate planning and investment in these systems, cities face greater risk of inequality, disease, poverty, squa, environmental stress, and slower economic growth.
When water and sanitation systems are resilient and inclusive, they can support healthier communities, more sustainable urban growth, and stronger economies.
The Africa Water Vision 2063 and policy speaks directly to this broader understanding.
It frames water not simply as a natural resource, but as a strategic asset for transformation, one that can support climate resilience, foster economically vibrant cities, enhance food and energy security, and secure long term prosperity.
This continental perspective also resonates strongly with Ghana's own development priorities with an estimated average urban growth rate of 4.2% and an urban population projected to reach 65% by 2030.
Ghana's rapid urbanization makes sound water and sanitation management essential to economic transformation, sustainable development, and improved quality of life.
In this context, Ghana's 2024 Presidential Compact on water sanitation and hygiene with the United Nations reflects a strong commitment to expanding access to water sanitation services and accelerating progress towards SDG six.
As we engage today, this framework should help guide our focus towards practical and forward looking recommendations that strengthen partnerships, mobilize catalytic financing, promote innovation, and integrate water and sanitation priorities more fully into national, regional and global development processes.
The African Union's designation of 2026 as the Year of water and sanitation gives us an important opportunity to translate vision into action.
In conclusion, let us use this dialogue to strengthen our collective resolve to place water and sanitation at the center of Africa's development and to build water secure, climate resilient and inclusive communities across the continent.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, my dear brother Abastro Sam.
Before moving forward, allow me and on your behalf to express thanks and appreciation to Her Excesy PGA as she takes her leave to understand her hectic engagements and commitments.
So thank you very much, PGA, for your presence.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So we go back to taking the stage forward, and it's my pleasure to invite my dear brother, the Excellency Ambassador Sulla Vilmbo permanent representative of Zambia to the United Nations.
The floor is yours, Madam.
Thank you very much Chair, and I'd like to just write on the protocols that have been observed already.
I Indeed, we are taking the stage forward because many of the points that have been put across have been well articulated by the previous speakers.
But nonetheless, being co chair of one of the processes are honored to join this distinguished panel.
Allow me first to commend the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa for convening the Africa Dialogue Series in particular focusing on today's discussion, which is water.
This theme resonates strongly with several important processes that are underway, including Africa Union's designated designation of 2026 as the Year of Water.
It is also a key focus area for the Ecosog level political forum.
It was a focus also of the STI forum that we co chaired with Austria and at the same time, it's a focus of the World Bank Group's flagship initiative on water forward, driving jobs and prosperity.
Further, just this week, member states and partners gathered in Du Chambe for the Water Conference over the past few days to advance collective action on water.
The convergence of these initiatives is far from coincidental.
Rather, it reflects a growing recognition that water lies at the heart of development, security, resilience, and human well being.
Zambia and Finland as co chairs of the interactive dialogue on water for cooperation, transboundary and international Water Cooperation, including scientific cooperation and inclusive governance, at this upcoming 2026 UN Water Conference are helping to elevate the importance of transboundary water cooperation.
Through our 100 parties initiative, we're encouraging member states, including African countries, to accede to the two W conventions while advancing stronger frameworks for cooperation and inclusive water governance.
That said, let me highlight just maybe three points.
First, water cooperation.
Water cooperation is really not an option.
It is indispensable.
DSG touched on this.
What underpins agriculture, energy, biodiversity, and many other sectors.
Globally, approximately 60% of freshwaters are transboundary and while more than 90% of Africa's waters are shared, and I think the chair pointed out in his opening remarks.
Um, so we see water security increasingly acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating fragility, displacement, food insecurity, and conflict, particularly in vulnerable areas of Africa.
At the same time, when it relates to water insecurity, we see climate change, population growth, urbanization, environmental degradation, and rising demand are placing unprecedented pressures on water, energy, food nexus.
Yet shared water resources also create opportunities, opportunities for dialogue, trust building, regional integration, and peace.
Water cooperation is therefore not only beneficial but imperative.
It requires a couple of things.
Firstly, strengthening river basin organizations, transboundary aquifer mechanisms, and water diplomacy platforms, particularly in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and in the Central Africa region.
For the Southern Africa region, we have the Zambezi River Authority, which is a well established organization between Zambia and Zimbabwe managing our assets between the two countries.
The other issues we need to enhance scientific cooperation and data sharing, including hydrological information, climate forecasting and early warning systems to promote transparency, support evidence based policy making, and strengthen cooperation management of shared resources.
Scientific cooperation should be elevated as a cornerstone of preventative diplomacy and sustainable water governance.
The second aspect is inclusive governance, which is also equally essential.
Effective water governance requires the active participation of governments, institutions, local communities, civil society, academia and private sector.
I think we touched on the issue of partnerships by the AU chair.
Such participation strengthens accountability, legitimacy, and the sustainability of water related decisions and investment.
It must also ensure the meaningful inclusion of women and young people.
Given water's cross sectional nature, and its impact beyond national borders, inclusive governance enables more coherent and sustainable interventions at national, regional, and global levels.
In this regard, the African Water Vision 2063 underscores the importance of strengthening education, skills, research, and knowledge systems, including indigenous knowledge to cultivate a new generation of leaders capable of advancing water security, resilience, and peace.
Third point.
Third, we must recognize and harness the economic opportunities associated with addressing water and sanitation challenges.
Agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of global freshwater use and remains central to livelihoods and economic transformation across Africa.
Hydropower likewise, remains critical to energy generation and industrialization.
However, climate related shocks, including droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall are increasingly disrupting food systems, energy production, and rural livelihoods.
This underscores the urgency of adopting integrated approaches across the water energy food nexus.
Greater investment is needed in climate resilient wash systems, sustainable irrigation, resilient hydropower, water efficient technologies, and ecosystem restoration.
At the same time, Africa should seize opportunities presented by the circular economy by transforming sanitation challenges into sources of value through waste energy solutions, fertilizer production and water reuse.
You must also invest in homegrown technologies, strengthen local industries and value chains, expand private sector participation, and leverage digital tools to improve service delivery and address Africa's unique development challenges.
In conclusion, excellencies, the designation of 2026 as the Year of Water presents a unique opportunity to elevate the water agenda and accelerate progress across SDG six indicators and other water related sustainable development goals.
Africa's prioritization of water demonstrates strong political commitment.
And the determination to shape global discourse and action in ways that advance African Water Vision 2063.
We do commend Synagog for this.
It also provides an opportunity to ensure that water remains central to discussions in the post 2030 development agenda, given its indispensable role in Africa's socioeconomic transformation.
Zambia remains firmly committed to advancing water cooperation.
We look forward to working with our fellow African coachs Ghana, Egypt, and South Africa to promote Africa's priorities at the 2026 Water Conference and beyond.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, my dear brother, Ambassador Sulla.
And before moving forward, I would also like to express our profound appreciation to Your Excellency, DSG will take her leave for many other commitments for today.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, my sister.
Thank you.
We continue moving forward and to listen voices which are so crucial and so important in all this discussion and debate.
The youth voices.
Here we have two important voices which are going to hear one sister and one brother, very much gender parity.
For we'll have to start with miss Fu Ebo.
African focal point for the World Youth Parliament for Water and the co founder of the African Youth Parliament for Water.
Very impressive title indeed.
We look forward to hearing you, my dear sister.
Good morning, Excellency delegates, partners, and fellow youth leaders, and also thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important dialogue.
The concept note for this dialogue makes a powerful point.
Wad must be treated not only as a social service, but also as a strategic economic asset.
And so Africa's challenge isn't the lack of youth action or innovation.
It's a lack of systems connecting that local action to policy implementation.
And at the African Department for Water, we believe two things are needed to bridge that gap, and that is stronger governance and stronger data.
And this is why we are also working on two initiatives at the moment, which are called the youth labs and the Africa SED Tracker.
And so the youth labs are kind of structured platforms, you know, to kind of connect governments, youth groups and experts to basically co create policies.
So it's basically about shifting youth from passive consultants to active partners, you know, to really solve problems together.
And then alongside this, you know, the Africa SED Tracker is basically meant to be a monitoring database platform designed to measure progress towards the sustainable development goals and the Africa's Agenda 2063, and the aim there is to strengthen reporting, you know, to identify the gaps and to provide evidence on how project and policies are basically contributing to the development targets.
So simply put, youth labs help drive implementation.
SED tracker helps measure progress.
And so within this context and the concept notes, I would love to highlight, four priorities to these two solutions.
And the first priority is really about scaling youth driven was innovation.
So so too many youth innovations, they kind of remain trapped, you know, at the pilot stage, you know, because there is simply no pathway, you know, connecting the youth innovators to the government, you know, utilities, financing institutions.
And so for example, the African youth Charter, you know, that was launched in 2006 by the African Union, they inspired a lot of countries, you know, to establish youth policies.
But, you know, a couple of years later, implementation kind of remains uneven, you know, and this is where the youth labs come in, you know, so they would basically then create the sustainable jobs for the UTI.
Young people could be trained and contracted to become, for example, data collectors, monitoring and evaluation specialists, utility support officers or green technology entrepreneurs.
Our first ask is simply to support the establishment of one U lab in every African country that is then linked to the Ministry of Water or environment to really help finalize those new and existing policies.
Then the second priority is about transforming our utilities operate and deliver services.
For example, from the engineering perspective, I see four major structural fails, excuses for that.
For example, high level losses through leaks or poor metering, maintenance rather than preventative maintenance with data systems and fragmented governance.
The most urgent reform is at the moment digital utility transformation.
This includes then smart metering detection technologies.
GIS mapping and digital asset management system.
Apologies for the background, if you can excuse me to just mute for a second.
Thank you very much, miss Fatou.
Thank you very much and you are most welcome with the background which reminds us that the future is still challenging and we have to work for the future.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Let me now pass to another important voice of youth, our dear brother Ambassador Aref Abdel Jalid.
Actually, he's so young, but he's former ambassador.
I don't know how he's former ambassador, but officially title is former African Union youth Ambassador for peace.
For the northern region, and, of course, I have been ambassador for a long time.
He's a very active, really young ambassador and what happened that these positions are rotation, who fulfills his time term, another youth will come to fulfill.
That's what made him a former ambassador despite his young age.
Most welcome, ambassador.
Thank you, Your Ecellcy Skin.
We are actually leading by example.
We are leaving the space for more Young to come in.
Thank you so much, Excellencies, the president of the president of the 18th session of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the WPTA and the ASGs, distinguished ministers, ambassadors, permanent representatives, colleagues, partners, and our follow esteemed youth leaders.
All protocols observes, as I greet you, Sal Maleum peace be upon you all.
So when I was invited to address this distinguish gathering, I was literally reflecting on how best to speak about water.
I could have chosen the language of statistics and informed you that millions of Africans still lack reliable access to safe water and sanitation.
I could have chosen the language of economics and spoken about productivity losses, infrastructure deficits, and development indicators.
Or I could have also chosen the language of governance, my field of specialties, and examined the key performance indicators of our institutions against their ambitions.
Yet, none of these approaches alone seemed sufficient to me because water is one of the few issues that simultaneously touches our economies, our cultures, our faiths, our histories, our cities, our ecosystems, and ultimately our shared humanity.
Few resources have shaped the destiny of our societies as profoundly as water.
Water has shaped Africa's civilizations, trade routes, cultures, and systems of governance for millennia.
Across cultures and spiritual traditions, as I was entering the room, I was speaking with Her Excellency, the AG Dart and we were speaking about how water resources and also about democracy at the tribal level.
Humanity has always understood simple truth.
Where water is cured, societies flourish.
Where it becomes scarce, fragility often follows.
It is therefore no exaggeration to say that the story of water is in many respects the story of human development itself.
It is therefore both an honor and a huge responsibility to join you today within the framework of the Africa Dialogue Series 2026 under this timely transformative theme, Water and Sanitation for Life, harnessing water resources for Africa for the Africa we want.
Allow me to sincerely command the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and her distinguished team.
As our African Union Permanent Observer mission to the United Nations and his team, his Excellency Ambassador D, our big brother and main support, and all partners and institutions for convening this important dialogue at a defining moment.
Excellency, you have heard the UN Secretary-General, the chairperson of the African Union, and all the distinguished speakers that Africa stands today at a defining moment.
Our continent is experiencing one of the fastest urban transformation in the human history.
Demand for food, energy, jobs, housing, and public services continue to grow and at the center of each, these challenges lies a common denominator, water, and yet despite its strategic importance, water is often treated as a sectoral issue rather than a foundation for development.
We must elevate this conversation, Your Excellencies.
Water is no longer only a development issue.
It is economic infrastructure, it is a public health infrastructure, it is climate resilience infrastructure, and for sure, it is a peace infrastructure and increasingly it's governance infrastructure because the future of African cities, industries, agriculture, energy systems, and social cohesion will depend on whether we manage water not reactively, but strategically.
Water insecurity is not only a development issue.
In fragile context, it became a multiplier of inequalities, grievances, displacement, and instability.
Excellencies.
It is therefore one lesson emerging from our collective experiences.
It is Africa's water future cannot be secured through infrastructure alone.
It will be secured through smarter governance, governance that is capable of anticipating risks before they become crisis.
For too long, many of our systems in Africa have remained reactive.
Droughts intensify, infrastructures fades, diseases, outbreaks emerge and only when then we mobilize resources.
Today, however, we possess tools capable of changing these realities.
AI, productive analysis, geospatial mapping, and digital monitoring systems can help us in identifying vulnerabilities before communities suffer the consequences.
Imagine your excellency a future where a pipeline is repaired before entire communities lost access to water.
Where droughts risks are identified months before crops fail, or even where sanitation vulnerabilities are mapped before diseases outbreaks emerge.
This is the reality in Africa.
Where our young African innovators generate real time data that threatens public decision making, this is the future that we want.
This is no longer theoretical.
The technology already exists.
The challenge before us is governance innovation, institutional coordination, investment, and political prioritization.
Excellencies, this is also where the youth inclusion becomes critical.
Throughout my engagement across both the African Union and the United Nations platforms, one reality also has become increasingly evident.
Africa does not suffer from a shortage of youth leadership, innovation nor a commitment.
The challenge lies in the gaps between political recognition and institutional opaization.
Young people are increasingly invited into conversations, but they remain insufficiently integrated into the systems where decisions are shaped, priorities are established, and resources are allocated.
As I conclude, Your Excellencies, if we are serious about building resilient water and sanitation systems for the Africa we want, then youth must not only be invited into discussions after decisions already shaped.
Youth must become part of the systems that shape those decisions from the beginning.
This requires concrete commitments such as embedding structured youth advisories and technical mechanisms.
Within governance institutions, integrating youth expertise into urban planning and resilience platforms, supporting youth led innovation ecosystems, working on water security, climate adaptation, and digital governance, and creating operational pathways through which African youth can contribute meaningfully.
The Africa we want will not only be defined by the resources we possesses, it will be defined by the systems we build, by the dignity we choose to protect, and by the foresight with which we prepare future generation.
Future generations will not judge us by the declarations we adopted.
They will judge us by whether communities gained access to safer water.
By that, I thank you, San Jasin Sam.
Okay.
Sugar and New Zealand, S fir Arif.
Thank you very much, dear Ambassador Arif, thank you for sharing with us the wisdom of the youth and the forward looking approach was providing solutions for our problems.
Actually, this has been a rich discussion and a very valuable exchange, which has affirmed a clear and compelling message.
Water and sanitation are foundational pillars for achieving the Africa we want under Agenda 2063.
They are indispensable to economic transformation, sustainable urbanization, food security, energy access, environmental stewardship, climate resilience, and peace.
Here, I would like to thank all of you, all participants, all speakers, all who joined us in this platform and all distinguished presence.
I go back to my dear sister ASG Auna to guide the way forward for the rest of the day.
Thank you very much.
Back to you, my dear sister Aunah.
Thank you, Ambassador Ds and congratulations for brilliantly guiding the first session of this important dialogue.
I think I dear colleagues, friends, you've heard it all.
We've heard from our senior colleagues some very wise words, but also from our young leaders, some really inspiring statements.
Now we move into the juicy part of this dialogue where we will have some more reflections.
I'm not going to attempt to summarize the first session, but let me just say a few words about what I captured in most of the statements that were made.
I think All these speakers reminded us, one, that water lies at the heart of Africa's development trajectory.
The second, that water is a cornerstone for building pathways to resilient socioeconomic transformation across the African continent.
Third, that water is a powerful connector advancing the ambitions of both Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
Fourth, I think everyone underlined the multidimensional and multisectoral character of water.
I think we can be reminded that all of these perspectives are aligned with the Africa Water Vision 2063, which sets out a compelling vision of a water secure and a water resilient Africa with safe sanitation for all.
I think at the core of all of the conversation so far is a fundamental shift in how we understand water.
Not merely as a basic service, but as a strategic asset.
I think positioned in this way, water starts to become central to driving prosperity, to strengthening climate resilience, to fostering peace, but also to upholding human dignity and ensuring that inclusive development actually happens.
I would actually also underline three esss for me that popped out of all the conversation so far, scale, speed and sustainability.
I want us to keep this at the back of our minds as we enter today's discussion, which is going to explore how a strategic asset management approach could be adopted.
This was explored during the first week of ADS 2026, and we want to look at how this can help move the needle towards systems that are more sustainable, that are more efficient, that are resilient as opposed to the build neglect rebuild cycle that we currently have in many places.
I think the young leaders reminded us of the centrality of innovation and technology.
I think it's also good that we keep that in view.
This strategic asset management approach frames the next two sub themes of the ADS 2026 and it encourages us really to rethink water and sanitation as drivers for economic transformation for sustainable urbanization, for energy, but also for food security and durable peace.
Um, Let's swiftly get into it to this round table discussion.
I don't know where the table is, I don't see a round table, but just imagine it.
During this first part of the session, we will go sub theme by sub theme, and we'll hear from our panelists who are representing the respective co organizing partners of the ADS 2026.
First, we have the sub theme on strategic asset management, the approach overall to Africa's water resources.
We had two partners who are looking at this as ECA Economic Commission for Africa.
And the Africa Development Bank.
Unfortunately, we're having this conversation in the middle of the ADB annual meeting, which is taking place in Congo Brazzaville.
All our colleagues are busy with that and we're not able to have them at this discussion.
But, We're lucky to have ECA, the Economic Commission for Africa, represented by miss Mama Keita, who is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Commission.
She's in Adis Ababa and will participate remotely.
Mama, I hope you're online and I have a quick question for you.
How can Africa transition from viewing water primarily as a social service to managing it as a strategic economic asset that's capable of accelerating industrialization, for instance, but also food security, energy, access, and climate resilience? Mama, over to you.
Good morning and good afternoon, to you, Madam Moderator, Ahuna and to all the participants, Excellency.
I think my camera has been switched off, but I hope you can hear me.
Thank you very much for this question actually.
Yes, indeed, for too long, water is being considered as a social service rather than an economic asset, and yet we know how much it really is an input to all economizes actually.
It has been repeatedly said here for agriculture, for industrialization, for energy systems.
But to this, I should add also to technological development to digital transformation actually because I understand that to run these big server data servers that are used for AI AI, it takes a lot of millions of liters per day, actually.
So what is modern strategic and so it cannot be considered Now, it is a strategic economic asset.
It is a driver of economic transformation, and as such, it must be incorporated into planning frameworks, development plans, long term vision tools.
It should be tools and clearly make that link with the economic sectors, the driver of economic growth that I just listed, agriculture, energy, industrialization, and digital transformation.
It is only when incorporated into such frameworks that we things will start being implemented and we can change the situation.
After that, as we know, to plan well, we need good data systems.
And so we will need a lot of statistics and data also in order to be able to take good decision and also to monitor progress.
I think that also governance also is a good ingredient to that because in order to implement plans, planning is something, but to implement plans also, it take good governance and strong institution.
So I think that that also is extremely important.
And this is how we can really seeing water resources as becoming really driver of economic structural transformation.
Let me it here.
Thank you.
Keita, thank you so much for those very thoughtful reflections and again, bringing back the centrality of data in the conversation.
I think we'll move now to the second sub theme, which is on water and sanitation as drivers of economic transformation and sustainable urbanization.
Of course, here, you would expect that we will have the partners of Alda Nepad and UN Habitat.
In this segment, we're going to hear two video messages.
First, message from miss Ana Claudio Rosbach, who is our UN Secretary-General Excellency of UN Habitat.
Over to you, Anna Claudier.
Excellencies, honorable guests, distinguished delegates, colleagues, friends, ladies and gentlemen, very good morning to all of you.
It is my honor to address you at the high level policy dialogue, co organized with the African Union Commission, the Office of the President of the General Assembly, and the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa as we bring together the outcomes of the Africa Dialogue Series 2026.
Globally, nearly 3 billion people experience housing inadequacy.
More than 1 billion live in informal settlements and slums and more than 300 million people are homeless.
In Africa, more than half the urban population lives in informal settlements, and 600-900 million additional people are expected to move into cities in the coming decades.
The fastest urban transition globally, yet African cities are not ready.
Gaps in infrastructure, housing shortages, and exclusionary land systems risk deepening inequality, overwhelming water and sanitation services, and undermining economic transformation.
This is why urban planning is central to Africa's future.
Africa must plan now for inclusive growth through Islam upgrading, serviced land, and affordable housing grounded in universal access to water and sanitation.
This requires coordinated action at two levels, locally proactive urban planning that curbs, sprawl, and enables participatory densification and nationally, reforms to land governance, housing, and infrastructure finance and policies that recognize informal settlements as integral parts of the cities.
Water and sanitation service providers must be central actors in this transformation.
Through UN habitats Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance, we support utilities through peer to peer partnership to extend services to underserved communities.
Excellencies, let us rise to this moment with urgency and ambition, matching the scale of Africa's urban transformation with inclusive leadership and bold action.
UN Habitat stands ready to work with all partners to build inclusive, water secure, climate resilient African cities.
Thank you.
We thank miss Rosbck, the Under Secretary-General, for those remarks and we'll now go to the video message from Nardos Bekele Thomas, the CEO of Auden Nepat.
T Your Excelleny's distinguished representatives of the United Nations and the African Union, Honorable Ministers, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen.
I am pleased to join you for the Africa Dialogue Series 2026, convened under the theme Water and Sanitation for Life, harnessing water resources for the Africa we want.
I truly regret that I'm unable to be with you in person, but I welcome this opportunity to speak to an issue that sits at the very center of Africa's development agenda.
Water and sanitation excellencies are often presented as social services.
They are, but if we stop there, we miss the larger truth.
Water and sanitation are economic infrastructure.
They are public health infrastructure, they are urban infrastructure, they are climate resilience infrastructure, and above all, they are infrastructure for human dignity.
Country can build a productive economy if its people lack access to safe water.
City can grow sustainably if sanitation systems are weak.
No health systems can function without clean water and no industrial strategy can succeed where water security is treated as an afterthought.
This is why we place water and sanitation at the heart of Agenda 2063 and the Africa we want.
Let us be honest about where we stand.
More than 400 million Africans still lack access to safe drinking water, more than 800 million lack basic sanitation.
These are not simply numbers or statistics.
There are women rising before dawn to collect water.
They are children missing school because facilities are unsafe.
They are workers losing productive hours to preventable illness.
The economic consequences are just as serious.
Africa loses up to $200 billion every year as a direct consequence.
Three out of four jobs on the continent are water dependent.
So when we speak about water, we're also speaking about productivity, education, health, jobs, food security, and industrialization.
We must stop treating water, sanitation, energy, food systems, health, housing, and urban development as separate sectors.
In the lives of our people, they are connected.
Therefore, in our policies, budgets, and delivery systems, they must also be connected.
This is where a UDNAPD mandate becomes directly relevant.
Our role is to translate continental priorities into implementation, connecting policy, infrastructure, financing, capacity development, and delivery.
We're working with member states, regional economic communities, and partners to ensure that Africa's commitments become practical instruments and measurable results.
Ladies and gentlemen, Africa does not need more declarations.
Africa needs bankable projects, stronger institutions, predictable financing, and measurable results.
The Africa Dialogue Series must therefore help us move from dialogue to delivery.
Let this be our message.
Water and sanitation are not support systems for development.
They are the drivers of development.
If we get this right, we will build healthier societies, more resilient cities, stronger economies, and a more dignified future for our people.
That is the Africa we want.
I thank you.
Excellent.
Thank you to Madam Beckler for that.
We will now go to our final sub theme, which is sub theme three, water and sanitation for Peace, for energy, and for food security.
For this, we have partners from the Africa Development Bank again, UNESCO and UNICEF and the Institute for Security Studies for Africa.
I think we have been joined.
By some of those colleagues at the podium here.
I'm going to start with you, doctor Oya Mogani, who is the head of Special Projects, Office of the Executive Director Institute of Security Studies Africa.
If he could he will speak to us on why he thinks water, peace and security are critical to the success of the Africa Water Vision 2063.
Doctor Otilia, you have.
Okay.
Thank you very much, Madam Moderator.
I am joining you virtually from Pretoria.
An extreme honor as always to contribute to the African Dialogue series this year and in past occasions as well.
I of course, provide my input based on the work and the research of our teams across the African continent and perhaps let me start by reiterating two points that have already been made both by the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General.
First, there is no doubt that water is life.
And secondly, from DSG Mohammed, that it is really never about water.
It is for that reason that the way that we look at water is to situate it within the broader conversation around energy, food, peace and security, and recognizing that these are interlinked in a way that requires inputs and insights across the board.
For us, then, it means having an approach that is rooted in these linkages that elevates water not only from being considered a basic commodity, but as has already been said by the Secretary-General, as a strategic asset, primarily for people's livelihoods, but also for regional stability.
For us, without preventing water related conflicts and securing the shared basins, the continent simply cannot achieve the inclusive growth, economic integration, and the peace and security agenda that we hope to achieve as a continent by 2063.
I want to wrap up maybe by listing in bullet points, Madam Moderator, four key aspects for us that need emphasis.
The first is around human dignity and health.
Some of this has already been said, but for us, we connect this also to stability and security and development on the continent.
Access to safe water and sanitation is already recognized as a fundamental right.
But as has already been said by other intervenors already, there are many on the African continent that do not have access to safe water and sanitation.
For us, fulfilling this right underpins the Africa we want, the Africa that some of us continue to dream of and by reducing the disease burden, boosting labor productivity, and ensuring that we end the cycles of poverty and inequality.
The second key aspect relates to climate resilience.
We recognize that climate shocks increasingly threaten water availability or even the climate variability that was spoken about by DSG Mohamed, where we may plan for a dry year and then the rains come in an El Nino.
We need in this instance to leverage digital innovation, to build predictive early warning systems, to enhance water security that shields vulnerable communities from climate disasters and instability.
The third key aspect is around regional integration and cooperation.
We already heard that over 90% of Africa's surface water crosses international borders and 40% of the population are dependent on those shared aquifers.
It goes without saying that cross border cooperation is critical.
The African economic community, which envisages regional economic communities and mechanisms as the bedrock is already working towards this vision.
But what needs to happen is to make sure that water is integrated in those processes in the visions around water security as well.
In this way, water becomes less a driver of tensions in communities that are denied, that shared basins do not create tensions, but instead that they drive trade, integration, and that these are essential ingredients for stability and security.
The final that I would include here is economic transformation and food security.
Again, quoting the SG, water is life.
Water is the lifeblood of Africa's industrialization, energy, or agricultural sectors, but it's also the thing that keeps us going.
With 80% of jobs in low income African countries already being heavily water dependent, ensuring that we secure water to prevent drought, induce GDP losses, and forced migration will ultimately be able to protect our labor productivity, and if this is the case, then we may be able to finally foster the sustainable livelihoods that we seek on the continent.
To repeat the point, water, energy, food, peace and security go hand in hand and a regional and continental approach that recognizes this with the support, of course, of the United Nations is the best approach to take.
Thank you very much, Madam Moderator.
Many thanks for that, doctor Tila.
I think really thanks for reminding us again of the imperative of cross border cooperation.
You reference to the fact that shared basins do not create tension, remind me of late Fela Nikola Pokkuti's song, which says, water no get enemy in pigein English, which means water has no enemy.
And please let's not make an enemy of water.
If we could start to build cooperation around water across borders to actually power peaceful coexistence of populations, I think we will see a great advancement, not only in our human civilization, but also in our development aspirations.
I'd like to turn now to you, Mr.
Elliott Mi Chamberg.
Excuse me if I mispronounce that.
Mr.
Elliott is the Director of UNSCO Representation to the United Nations.
You know, we see UNESCO on the landscape, not only of peace, science, and all of that, but also right now taking on some major transformative initiatives.
I wanted to see if you could reflect for us how this ADS, 2026 and, for instance, the Bianal of Luanda, which you are heavily involved in can join hands in a coordinated manner to further embed the culture of peace within the broader peace and security architecture of the African Union, particularly in relation to integrated water governance, bearing in mind, of course, the example of Uxco's long standing work in this area and considering also that the culture of peace responds to conflict prevention and tackles conflict drivers.
Do you see any room for future synergies between both endeavors to ensure better coordination between global initiatives? Thank you very much, Madam Moderator, Excellency, distinguished permanent representatives, distinguished panelists, dear colleagues from the UN system and dear colleagues, let me just say first that it's a pleasure for me to join you today and for UNESCO to co organize this high level policy dialogue.
With the UN Water Conference, at the end of this year, we are glad to see all the stakeholders joining force at the highest possible level to seize this matter.
It is of utmost importance.
As we've heard today, water is more than a basic service.
It is both a driver of cooperation and a source of tensions.
The UN World Water Development Report draft and published by UNESCO with inputs from across the UN system is explicit on this.
The data from the 2024 edition dedicated to Water for peace and prosperity show that water security is inseparable from peace and stability.
When we manage water equitably, it strengthens communities.
When it is scarce or degraded, it undermines livelihoods and contributes to conflict.
As many speakers have said, 60% of the world's water flows across borders, and in Africa, it's 90% of surface water located in 63 shared rivers and basins.
Cooperation over shared water is therefore not an option.
Now, to your question, Madam Moderator, the Biennial of Rwanda, the Pan African Forum for Culture of Peace was launched in 2019 by UNSCO together with the African Union and the government of Angola to serve as a platform to promote a culture of peace and support the peaceful resolutions of conflict.
It rests on a specific approach to peace building that focuses on the values, attitudes, and behaviors that make peace last.
The fourth edition which will take place in October, will focus on strengthening water governance as a tool for conflict prevention, mediation, and resolution.
Heads of State and government, youth and civil society will address key areas that are directly relevant to this panel and the policy recommendations on water and sanitation that were discussed today.
First, on water management and cooperation.
Through UNESCO's intergovernmental ideological program, IHP, which is the only program of its kind in the UN system, countries collaborate on shared water management.
The network is vast.
It includes 170 national committees, 93 UNESCO chairs in different universities, and 29 specialized centers.
Even of these centers and chairs are based in Africa, providing strong regional capacities for research, training, and implementation.
Now, the UNESCO IP was a member of the reference group which coordinated the preparation of the New Africa Water Vision 2063 and policy, as well as the Africa Groundwater Program.
Beyond this, the IP provides direct operational support to African member states through science based approaches and tools for groundwater management, climate resilience, and strengthened water governance systems.
It actively supports transboundary cooperation and data driven decision making through initiatives on shared groundwater system, basin level programs, and regional information systems, including in the Nile, Lake Chad, and the Sahel, among others.
Scientists from neighboring countries work together because they must.
They share the same aquifers and rivers.
They speak the language of science.
Water diplomacy is essential.
In the same vein, access to hydrological data is essential.
UNESCO's recommendation on open science, adopted by 193 member states, establishes that scientific knowledge must be openly shared and accessible.
This responds directly to one of the ADS policy recommendation which encourages the promotion of open sciences.
The second aspect that will be discussed in Wanda is education.
We should indeed strengthen education and knowledge systems.
If we are to manage shared water resource peacefully, especially those that cross borders, we must first build the foundations of mutual understanding, trust, and solidarity.
These foundations are not created at the negotiation table only.
They are cultivated in classrooms, in communities, and throughout lifelong learning.
Water education is essential.
From an early age, learners must understand where the water comes from, how it flows across borders, and why cooperation is essential.
At higher levels, we must equip engineers, scientists, policymakers, and diplomats with the skills to manage water sustainably and cooperatively.
Through UNESCO's Campus Africa Initiative, we support African universities integrating water across curricula and research.
We equip engineers, scientists, and diplomats with both technical expertise and the skills to negotiate and cooperate.
More broadly and equally important, we should promote peace education.
When learners understand that water is shared, that it is finite, that it connects them to their neighbors, and that equitable cooperation is the only viable path, they begin to internalize values of shared responsibility, fairness, and interdependence.
Our approach is grounded in UNSCO recommendation on Education for peace, human rights, and sustainable development.
It reminds us that peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but an active and participatory process built every day through our choices, our policies, and critically through education.
All.
Third, as was mentioned by other speakers, water is an integral component of our culture in a number of continents and especially in Africa, water has shaped the history and the identity of Africa.
This is common shared heritage shared by the peoples in the area and for this reason, water needs to be protected.
Through global heritage sites and biosphere reserves, UNESCO has been working proactively with government for the preservation of these sites, a number of which are located in water zones.
These sites also benefit from the knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples vis vis water management, which we have a great deal to learn about, and we have a great deal to learn from them.
Both the African Dialogue Series and the Biennial of Rwanda have tremendous convening powers, mobilizing a large spectrum of stakeholders rich in their findings and recommendations.
It will be important to integrate their outcomes in such a way that the dialogues feed into the Biennial of Luanda.
This course could also be achieved by echoing the policy briefs prepared within the context of the ADS, of which UNESCO gladly took part or the call to action.
Such briefs will inform the discussion during the Biennial in Rwanda.
At the same time, the Biennial of Rwanda should also find opportunities to carry forward its recommendation in New York, particularly in policy making actionable on the ground.
The outcome of both meetings should intentionally look towards the UN Water Conference and contribute to strengthening Africa's position on water related issues.
Thank you for your attention.
Excellent.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Elliott, for those very thoughtful and well put points.
I think I particularly like the fact that you brought in research and knowledge sharing and open data for that matter, but also the importance of water education and water diplomacy.
I think sometimes these are neglected in this pursuit, and I think we need to bring them back to the heart of the conversation around values as well.
You really emphasized the the importance of values, what kind of values and where are we cultivating these values and starting with the young ones at school? I think that's really an important point and that also feeds into the whole concept of trust and solidarity to values that I think retreating from us today, but we can use water to bring them back to the agenda.
Thank you so much for those words.
We're also joined today by miss Anne Thomas, who is a senior advisor on water sanitation and hygiene at UNICEF and the miss Thomas, I would like to ask you to maybe tell us a little bit about the biggest opportunities that we can harness through wash, in particular, water and sanitation and hygiene on the African continent and how UNICEF is supporting these initiatives.
Great.
Thank you so much and it's a pleasure to be here with you all today.
Good afternoon, Excellency, Senish colleagues, partners, and our youth leaders in particular.
Over the course of this past month through this dialogue series and indeed this morning, I was very heartened to hear that one message emerged very clearly, which is that water sanitation and hygiene are not just social services and nor are they just infrastructure.
This is really encouraging because I think our aim is really to put water and sanitation at the heart of the development agenda because we know it's broader impacts with health, food security, climate resilience, energy security, economic development, social cohesion, and peace and the on.
Of course, they're the smartest, no regrets investments that a country can make to improve child survival and nutrition, strengthen educational outcomes, reduce vulnerability and displacement pressures, and support productivity and economic roots.
There are several opportunities that I could go into, but there are three in particular I'd like to mention today and specifics about what UNICEF does to contribute to these agendas.
The first is the opportunity to consider wash systems and how they're developed as drivers of social and gender inclusion.
Because when these services are managed and developed in a socially inclusive manner, they can strengthen trust, resilience, and social cohesion.
Just earlier this week we celebrated menstrual hygiene Day and it was an opportunity to come together to address the stigma of inadequate sanitation facilities, of limited access to products and information that continue to plague millions of women and girls across Africa.
Keeping many from fully participating in school, community life, and other social and economic opportunities.
It's just one example of the way that water and sanitation services can have an impact on social inclusion.
What is UNICEF doing? In this regard, we support African governments to strengthen menstrual health and hygiene through comprehensive systems based approaches that go beyond just product distribution.
Includes developing policies and guidelines, strengthening coordination and financing, and integrating menstrual health and hygiene into national monitoring systems, creating period friendly schools and institutions.
A few examples from the continent in Tanzania, UNCEf supported the development of comprehensive national menstrual health and hygiene guidelines accompanied by implementation toolkits covering coordination, behavior change, products, facilities, and sustainability.
Helping institutionalize nstrual health across sectors and strengthen government capacity for implementation.
In Ethiopia, our evidence and advocacy generation contributed to the government's decision to grant a full tax exemption on menstrual products, improving affordability and menstrual equity.
A second opportunity I wanted to unpack a little bit is the fact that Africa is the youngest continent in the world and its future will be shaped by the opportunities available to its children and its youth.
By 2063, nearly 1 billion children are expected to live in the continent and more than 70% of these young people are expected to live in urban areas.
Whether they grow up healthy, educated, resilient, and able to contribute to Africa's prosperity will depend heavily on whether they have access to safe, sustainable and climate resilient services.
We heard that youth want to move from consultation to influence, from symbolic engagement to real partnership.
This matters because young people are not only future beneficiaries of wash systems, they're already innovators, entrepreneurs, climate leaders, and accountability actors today.
So in this space, UNICEF has been working toward the UN Water Conference this year to develop a youth accountability platform and a youth wash ambassadors program.
This is then to try and link them to existing accountability and governance processes, including national wash compacts, the SWA mutual accountability process, the JMP and Glass processes so that young people are integrated into existing systems rather than through parallel structures.
This is creating a pipeline of informed professionals who can take forward the agenda as they grow older.
A third area I wanted to discuss as an area of opportunity is around investment readiness.
Experience shows that when countries invest in strengthening systems, and when they target financing to decreasing children's vulnerability and exerting political leadership, countries can accelerate progress.
Strengthening national monitoring systems and strengthening institutional accountabilities in particular are low hanging fruit when it comes to system strengthening and it is also an area where we can build confidence in the sector leading to faster results for Africa's children.
UNICEF in this area has long supported the work of key AU wash sector institutions such as the African Ministers Council on Water and the A NPD institution on strategic initiatives such as the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines, monitoring systems, and the Africa Investment Scorecard, which is helping to benchmark country progress in key areas of institutional regulatory and policy strengthening to strengthen systems to develop financial strategies for the sector.
So perhaps just looking forward, I'd like to reflect on two of the key elements of the call to action that has been put forward through the policy brief of the series, and that is around translating vision to action and enabling country level translation of that vision.
First off, with UNICEF fast footprint and presence across the continent, we are well placed and ready with key agencies of the AU to support translating the vision of the Africa Water vision into action.
Secondly, that we really recognize how partnerships are critical.
No single institution can address these interconnected challenges alone.
This is why collaboration between governments, AU institutions, development banks, communities, the private sector, and young people themselves can be so important.
Finally, reframing WASH, not as a social expense, nor as infrastructure, but as a strategic investment in resilience, human capital and peace is so important.
We also notice so much more than that impacting on environments, tourism, and economic development and we're seeing more and more countries starting to frame it that way so as to attract the financing and support that the sector requires.
If we focus on these areas of grace vulnerability, while also investing in systems, partnership and youth leadership, we can unlock transformative progress for children and communities across Africa.
Thanks very much.
Great.
Thank you so much for that, miss Thomas.
I think it's really interesting to hear what you had to say.
What really stood out for me was the fact that design matters when we talk about systems because this is where we lose time and money when we don't integrate all the elements that are supposed to be in the design from the start.
But also for underlining accountability.
That's really key as well.
Thank you for the offer that you would be using your presence on the ground to help translate this vision to action and the support to young people as well.
You have been an incredibly patient audience.
This is a long meeting, it's 3 hours long.
But I'm really pleased to let you know that we are gradually getting to the last hour here.
We're now moving into the interactive session and here we will hear from a number of member states representatives who have already indicated that they would want to take the floor.
In the interest of time, I'd like to limit all interventions to 2 minutes, please.
If you go over your 2 minutes, I think the mics will automatically go off.
We want to stop this meeting at exactly 1:00 so you can all have well deserved lunch.
But also, we want to also get to the conclusion by Madame Date.
Let me I'll start immediately with the first speaker I have on the list.
His Excellency, Mr.
Herbert Shabner, who is the special envoy of the Republic of Austria and former Federal Minister of Defense, Austria.
If you just indicate, they will have your mic on.
There you go.
Thank you.
Thank you much.
Good afternoon, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
It's a great honor for me to address you today on behalf of Austria this year's Africa Dialogue Series.
The focus on water is a very pertinent topic and in this context, let me also voice Austria's support for the UN Water Conference in December under the leadership of the United Arab Embirs and Senegal.
For today's discussion, I would like to contribute the following free remarks.
First, water is life and access to water and sanitation is not merely a technical issue.
It is a matter of justice, stability, and political responsibility.
Without water, sustainable development is not possible.
Water is connected to food security, health, climate, energy, biodiversity, and equality.
Linking all these aspects in an integrated and strategic way is not just good practice, it is political necessity.
Second, water is a priority of Austria's partnership with many African countries.
We support partner countries in the sustainable management of water resources or the development and maintenance of water supply and sanitation systems.
The Austrian Development Agency supports close to 70 projects contributing to improvements in the area of water and sanitation.
For example, Austria contributes significantly to the Team Europe Initiative for transboundary Water Management in Africa.
Our engagement goes far beyond infrastructure.
It is about addressing equality, fragility, and systematic risk.
Third, in the face of growing challenges from climate change, water security, and unequal access to water and sanitation, international cooperation is more important than ever.
Strengthening partnerships and knowledge sharing without our multilateral framework, microphone has been cut off, your mic is now off.
Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for that intervention.
We'll now go to His Excellency, Mr.
Lieu Herrera Lim, who is under Secretary and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Philippines.
Thank you, Madam Moderator Abuna.
Excellencies, the Philippines congratulates the African Union and the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa for convening this high level policy dialogue and we join the international community in celebrating Africa Day.
The Philippines reaffirms its support for the African Union's Agenda 2063 and sustainable and inclusive development through strengthened water security, sanitation systems, and climate resilience.
Universal water, sanitation, and hygiene services remain foundational to public health, food security, economic productivity, and sustainable development.
Philippines works closely with partners to the group of friends in support of water, sanitation, and hygiene in healthcare facilities to strengthen national efforts to promote climate resilient was systems, including to the adaptation of the WHO and UNICEF Water and Sanitation Health Facility Improvement tool.
The Philippines also recognizes the importance of protecting water infrastructure and ensuring access to water in situations of armed conflict Together with Senegal and Mozambique, the Philippines is an active member of the Global Alliance to spare water from armed conflict, which promotes the protections of civilians and civilian objects, including water systems in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law and relevant Social Security Council resolutions.
Last week, the Alliance convened a signed event focused on strengthening coordination to ensure continued access to water during situations of conflict.
Philippines likewise highlights the importance of the role of South South in triangular cooperation in advancing practical and mutual beneficial solutions for water and climate related challenges.
We encourage greater interregional cooperation on water resources management to advance integrated.
Thank you so much for that, Mr.
He Lim.
Your Excellency.
I now would like to call on Mr.
Tomohirosa, the ambassador and Deputy Permanent representative of Japan.
Thank you for giving me.
Outset, I'd like to express my appreciation to you and OSA and all partners for convening this timely applicant DOC.
The theme water and sanitation of Home Life is highly relevant.
It aligns with the AU theme for 2026 and it is closely linked to SDG six, which will be rebuilt this year's HLPF.
Despite important progress made across Africa, significant challenges remain.
In this regard, Japan does calls the importance of sustained investment in resilient water and sanitation system, strengthening governance and institutional capacity and locally owned solutions that leave no one behind.
Japan remains committed to advancing systemic and sustainable solutions in areas including wash that incorporate human security perspective.
Our guiding principle is rooted in restoring and protecting the dignity inherent in every human being.
In partnership with UNICEF, Japan has supported W initiatives in countries including Rwanda, Liberia, and Gambia.
Japan attaches great importance to the upcoming 2026 UN Water Conference.
At the conference, Japan will serve as a co chair of the interactive dialogue on Water for Planet alongside Egypt.
Japan also believes that the meaningful participation of women in water governance is indispensable.
To this end, gaps must be closed to build sustainable and transparent governance and advance water, women peace and security, WWPS nexus.
Through the TIGT process, Japan continues to promote human centered development in Africa.
Japan remains firmly committed to supporting Africa efforts to assure sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems in line with SDG three and aspirations of the Agenda 2060.
Thank you so much, Ambassador.
I'd now like to call on His Excellcy Mr.
Paneranda, the permanent representative of Namibia.
All.
Madam Chair, thank you for the floor.
We thank the organizers for convening this timely dialogue.
As one of the driest countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Namibia places water at the core of its development agenda guided by vision 2030 and implementation through our national development plans, we continue to prioritize integrated water resource management, equitable access, and climate resilience.
This dialogue takes place at a critical moment, building momentum from key global and regional processes.
In this regard, Namibia welcomes the outcome of the 12th Africa Forum on Sustainable Development.
Which reaffirmed the importance of accelerating SDG six implementation across the continent.
We also note the commitments emerging from the fourth Du Chamble Water Action ticket Conference, which underscored the agents of scaling investment and innovation in water management.
Furthermore, we look ahead to the high level political forum on sustainable development, which remains central in reviewing progress on SDG six and promoting accountability.
In the same vein, the follow up to the second UN Water Conference continues to galvanize global partnerships and commitments under the Water action agenda and effort Namibia strongly supports.
Madam Chair, we welcome the 2026 UN conference co hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates as a major follow up to the historic 2023 UN conference.
In this regard, Namibia signed an agreement to host the Secretariat of the Global Water Partnership Organization, strengthening Africa's role in global water governance, making a strategic commitment to advancing global cooperation on water security.
Furthermore, Namibia has made sustained efforts in integrated water resource management, climate adaptation, Many thanks for that, Namibia, and now we go to His Excellency, Mr.
Dmitry Tumakov, Deputy permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.
Flo osa.
Thank you, Excellency.
Effective management of water resources is an essential prerequisite for economic growth and development.
We agree with this.
We're confident that the ties between Russia and African countries will continue to expand, open new opportunities for joint development, technological partnership, and achievement of the SDGs.
And we're also convinced that the third Russia Africa Summit, which is scheduled to take place in October in Moscow this year will help outline new perspective for promoting our mutually beneficial cooperation.
But I would like to have a comment about today's agenda.
Russia consistently advocates for a depoliticized, professional and unifying approach to water related issues as water availability does not have direct security implications.
Thus, water issues should not constitute a part of security agenda.
Water resources must not be used as an instrument of political pressure, unilateral restrictions or divisions between states, international cooperation in the water sector should be based on the principles of sovereign rights for water resources, equity and mutual respect, consideration of national interests, and strict adherence to international law.
So speaking about what we don't like in the agenda or in other statements, but I would also like to comment upon what we do like in today's agenda.
Russia attaches great importance to strengthening partnerships, of course, partnerships with African states.
Russia possesses substantial expertise in water resources management, very big experience in educational organizations, prepared to participate in joint projects aimed at strengthening sustainable water management for SDGs.
Thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Excellency for those comments.
I'd now like to turn to a representative of Angola.
Good morning.
Excellency.
Water and sanitation are strategic assets for economic transformation, public health, food security, and sustainable development.
These are essential pillars for resilience, productivity, inclusive growth.
I'm going to fully support the action oriented vision reflected in ADS 2026 and the Africa Water Vision 2063.
The time has come to move beyond discussions, centered only on access and focus on implementation, investment and sustainability.
In Angola, we are investing in integrated solution to strengthen water security and climate resilience, particularly in drought prone regions.
At the continental level, water remains a strategic resource for regional integration and shared prosperity.
Strengthening cooperation in transboundary water resources can contribute to stability, economic development, and resilience across Africa.
We also welcome Unesco recognition of the Landa BNL as an important platform for promoting dialogue, peace, and cooperation across Africa.
This recognition reaffirmed the strong link between peace, sustainable development, and resilience.
Achieving this objective will require an enhancing financing, technology transfer and capacity building and stronger partnerships.
We are committed to work with all African partners in the international community to ensure that War becomes a catalyst for sustainable development and prosperity for all.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Excellency.
Now would like to invite the representative from Portugal.
Thank you very much Chair and thank you to the panelists.
Allow me to be a bit interactive today.
I didn't have an intervention prepared, but I learned a lot from the panel today and from all of the speakers.
My country My country does not give lessons to any other country, but when I listen to many of the speeches today, I was projected to 20, 30, 40 years ago in my country.
In the late 1980s, for example, in Portugal, over 20% of households did not have access to water and around 50% of the water that was supplied to households did not meet the quality standards that the European Union then put forward.
And now we have improved massively the water quality and also the coverage are almost around 100%.
So while we do not presume to give lessons, we can build on the partnerships and some of the things we've learned were some of the points that the Deputy Secretary-General made.
This is at the end about governance and this is about finance.
If we figure out those two issues, there are others, of course, to be figured out.
Inclusiveness is one of them, peace and security is one of them.
But if we can figure out these issues together, we believe we can have better outcomes.
Three years ago at the last UN Water conference, Portugal launched an alliance precisely for this to look at better policies, better regulation, and to address the issue of governance.
We hope that in that format, other countries can join us to Thank you, representative from Portugal and thanks for sharing the experience of Portugal.
I think there is always room to learn from other countries and we appreciate those comments.
Now I'd like to turn to Indonesia, Mr.
Bramania Widodo, counselor at the UN Mission for Indonesia.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Indonesia commends the African Union and the UN for advancing the important theme today.
Indonesia fully supports Africa efforts to achieve Agenda 2063 and the SDG six.
We agree this is the central message of this dialogue, water should not be viewed solely as a social service, but a strategic asset that underpins all other SDGs.
Indonesia sees Africa as a strategic partner or partnership is rooted in the spirit of the 1950 55 Asia Africa Conference in Bandu which continues to guide us cooperation based on solidarity, mutual respect, and shared prosperity.
In this regard, Indonesia remain committed to strengthening southaux and triangular cooperation through the Indonesian Agency for International Development.
Indonesia has worked with African partners in areas such as water resource management, sanitation, agriculture, food security, and nutrition, public health disaster risk reduction, digital transformation, and sustainable infrastructure.
Indonesia believes that the investment in human capital is as important as investment in infrastructure.
We therefore welcome the emphasis on youth leadership, women empowerment, technology transfer, and capacity building.
Looking ahead to the 2026 UN Water Conference, Indonesia stands ready to deepen partnership with African countries, share practical experience, and support locally driven solutions that strengthen water security, economic transformation, and climate resilience.
Africa's success is not only Africa's own success, it's a contribution to global prosperity, stability, and sustainable development.
Happy African Day and thank you.
Thank you, Mr.
Widodo and thanks for reminding us that what is good for Africa is also good for the world.
I'd now like to turn to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA representative in the room.
Floyd.
Madam Moderator, Excellencies, the Swedish colleagues.
Good afternoon.
ESG Amina Mohammed in her yo speech has affirmed the support of the UN system in providing technical support towards the goal of water and sanitation for life and for all.
Allow me to share the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Through the use of isotopic hydrology, a nuclear technique that uses stable and radioactive isotopes as stressors to fingerprint water.
By analyzing the isotopic composition of water samples, scientists can determine critical information that conventional hydrological methods often cannot, including data on the origin and storage of water, research zones, and surface water groundwater interactions.
This knowledge is essential for managing pollution risk and allocating water resources effectively.
The IAEA in partnership with the World Bank is working with Nigjer Republic and the wider Sahara region to unlock innovative financing to assess diverse but poorly understood transboundary aquifer systems.
By providing the first comprehensive isotopic maps of these shared groundwater resources, we are equipping national governments and regional bodies with the neutral scientific information needed to build trust, negotiate equitable sharing agreements, and manage these aquifiers for long term resilience.
PGA has also mentioned that better management of water and financing and the role of science and reliable data to guide policymaking.
The IAEA also supports cutting edge research through Global Water Analysis laboratory network, which empowers developing countries to generate and interpret.
Thank you, Madam Hoge for those words.
I would like to now turn to the representative from Tanzania.
Thank you, Madam Moderator, Excellencies, Tanzania is honored to join this year's high level policy dialogue, Africa Dialogue Series on water and sanitation, a vital platform for advancing African priorities.
Our country reaffirms that Africa's transformation must be driven by African leadership, regional cooperation, and strong multilateral partnership.
Tanzania continued to implement this development agenda focused on industrialization, digital innovation, human capital, and climate resilience fully aligned with the Agenda 263 and the 2030 agenda.
We are expanding education and health services, strengthening infrastructure to boost regional trade and investing in digital technology to ensure inclusive participation in the global economy, focusing clean water services and sanitation.
As climate impacts intensify across the continent, Tanzania underscores the urgent need for predictable financing, fair global economic structures, and stronger support for adaptation and resilience.
Tanzania stands ready to work with the United Nations, the African Union, and all partners to advance a peaceful, prosperous and resilience Africa.
I thank you.
Thank you, Excellency.
Appropriately closing out this list is a voice from our Queen Mother from the New Future Foundation, Queen Mother Flosius.
Queen Mother is very pleased to be with you.
Um, and I'm very moved as well, being around the United Nations for about 58 years as a humanitarian and going on 85-years-old inter generational, my young leader is sitting there before us.
And as the Queen Mother of hip hop, Queen Mother, I want you young people to shape the world you want and shape the Africa you must want.
Queen Mother, just wanted to say a couple of more words as I leave the mic, Madam Chairwoman.
We must remember our ancestors, young people, I'm speaking to you.
Angie Brooks, Julius Neri, Kenneth Kunda, Shek Amadubama.
Youth look for quality educations and skills.
You are ready to move.
I will say to you, young people, run as fast as you can run and shape the Africa you want.
I am waiting on you to do so.
Queen Mother would say to John Mohak, Reparations would give us the clarity of the 55 million displaced Africans of the transatlantic ocean, of the slave trade.
But they owe us economics for sustainable development.
That joins us in this libération struggle.
I just want to say one other thing to all of you as an elder.
What is life.
Life is holy.
Life is godly.
Blessings to all of you.
I she, I she I.
Amen, thank you, Queen Mother.
I think we deserve a round of applause.
We give you an extra minute, Queen Mother, because we knew that you had a message that is quite strong and central to where we are today.
But thanks for bringing the passion and the energy to the room.
We all felt that.
I thought you were going to be the last, but I'm informed that Ethiopia would like to take the floor.
Excellency, you have the floor.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Moderator, and apologies coming late.
We've already registered and I don't know how it is missed, but I thank you for giving us the floor.
I would like to start by thanking all the speakers for their insights and thoughtful presentations.
We have taken note of the discussions in the 2026 A dialogue series, interactive dialogues, the experts discussions, and today's interactive roundtable are reminders that there is a lot we need to work for.
It is also a reminder that our aim should also focus on policy coherence in developing our national natural resources, including water.
At the community level, access to water and sanitation contributes to social progress.
Water and sanitation is closely linked to food security and is equally important for energy production.
Water is needed to produce energy while energy is required to treat, transport, and distribute water.
Managing these two sectors in synergy is essential for sustainable development.
Ethiopia strongly believes that utilization of natural resources is a purely developmental issue, over which member states should be given the space to exercise sovereign policies.
Without prejudice to the interlinkage, attempts to securtize development agendas like water and sanitation may curtail Agenda 2063.
Access to water and sanitation is essential for economic growth, environmental sustainability, and public health.
As it's said by many today, water is one of the strategic economic assets and drivers of development.
By promoting responsible resource management, investing in infrastructure and technology, and strengthening regional cooperation, Africa can secure a more prosperous and sustainable future.
Thank you.
Thank you so very much.
I'd really like to thank all of you for your patience and understanding, which has brought us to a fast close of the high level policy dialogue of the Africa Dialogue Series 2026.
We are almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule, so hopefully we'll get you out of here as promised.
But to bring the event to conclusion, we have two more distinguished speakers that I think you would like to listen to.
The first is a Madam Christina Date, who is the UN Under Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa.
She will deliver her closing remarks.
As you know, the Office of the Special Advisor for Africa has been behind the organization of this event with several partners and we will now hear from miss Date herself.
My dear sister, Hana, it's always a pleasure to share the podium with you.
Thank you for your time in making yourself available to guide us through this session.
Of course, a special thank you for all our speakers and my dear brothers ambassadors for your time.
Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen.
For 30 days, this stage, here at the United Nations headquarters in New York has been devoted to a single subject, water and sanitation in Africa.
That alone is a statement.
Not because water has been absent from international agendas, but because for the first time in the forum, it has been discussed on Africa terms through Africa's lens and with Africa's development sovereignty at the center of ever exchange.
Let me be direct about what Africa Dialogue series has established and what it must now demand.
We open by drawing a line.
Water and sanitation in Africa are not social services to be administered.
They are not humanitarian footnotes to be managed at the margin of development budgets.
They are sovereign strategic assets and they must be governed as such.
That distinction changes every budget, every institution, every financing term, and every political decision that follows from it.
Across our webinars, we'll build a political economy argument that I want to state plainly one final time because it is the arguments most at risk of being softened in the translation from dialogue to communicate.
As all the speakers and participants have said here in this room, Africa holds 99% of global renewable freshwater, around 65% of the world's uncultivated arable land, and over 600 gigawatts of untapped hydropower, 89% of it unused.
The world's population will grow by 2.4 billion people by 2050.
Global food production must increase by more than 70%.
There is one place on Earth where the land, the water, and the labor to close that gap exists in combination.
That place is Africa.
These figures underscore two important issues.
First, to solve this equation, Africa's water and Africa's land must be part of the feeding the world equation.
Second, from an African policy making standpoint, we cannot discuss water without discussing land.
We cannot discuss water without discussing energy and consequently, agriculture, industrialization, and the environment.
The global system, as understood is arithmetic.
Foreign investors are acquiring Africa farmland at scale.
Every crop exported from a African field is African water leaving the continent.
This is not investment in Africa, it's extraction from Africa.
When a state cannot govern its strategic resources, those resources do not sit idle.
They become comprises for whoever can seize them.
The answer that the Africa Dialogue series has converged on its own is strategic asset management.
I want to be precise about what that does mean because it is not a technical framework.
It is a political commitment.
Strategic asset management means that Africa states govern water and sanitation systems across the full cycle of every asset from planning through construction, operation, maintenance, renewal and ecosystems protection.
It means ending the built, neglect, rebuild cycle that has consumed decades of capital and deliver declining returns.
It means no new infrastructure is approved without a funded maintenance plan.
It means that assets are treated as national balance sheet items, not project outputs.
But strategic asset management means something deeper than life cycle planning.
It means that the state is present, capable, and accountable.
Strong institutions are not a bureaucratic preference.
They are the only mechanisms through which a state can protect a strategic asset from capture, depletion, or alienation.
The countries that have successful govern their natural wealth, and we do have examples everywhere, did so through institutions that were deliberately built, adequately resourced and politically insulate from short term extraction incentives.
Africa's water government must be held to the same standard.
This requires control of economic and financial flows.
Africa needs to stop the billions of dollars in leakage.
Domestic resource mobilization must replace a dependency as the primary financing architecture for recurrent water systems costs.
Governments that pay for their own water systems govern them better.
International finance, climate funds, multilateral development banks, concessional financing, you name it, should be concentrated on the highest leveraged investments, large scale irrigation, transboundary infrastructure, and ecosystems restorations.
Excellencies, we leave the Africa dialogue series with a call to action.
Let me state what it must contain if it is to be worth of the argument we have made.
Africa does not have a water problem.
Africa has chosen for too long not to govern its water.
That choice ends here.
30 days ago we asked a question.
Who benefits from Africa's water and who on who's terms? The African Union team for 2026, it's clear, it's unambiguous.
Africa benefits on Africa's terms, but only if Africa's leadership choose to govern, to invest, to protect, to cooperate with strategic cs that these assets demands.
The world will develop Africa's water.
That is not in question.
The only question that remains, the only one that has even matter is whether it happens in Africa's way or in someone else.
The African Union call is clear, support by the United Nations Africa Dialogue Series.
Africa chooses its way.
Now we must build institutions, the laws, the budgets, the political will to make that choice irreversible.
To everyone in this room and beyond, we engage with the Africa Dialog Series, challenge its arguments, sharpen its ideas, and kept faith with the continent it serves.
Thank you.
Africa's deserve no less than your continued commitment, and it is mine unconditional and without end.
This is my last Africa Dialogue series.
Thank you so much for your support, your engagement.
It has been a wonderful journey.
The Africa we want is the Africa that world needs.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Madame Duarte, for those powerful words.
I think from this assembly to you, deep gratitude and respect for how you have led this forum over the years and the achievements that have been underscored, but in particular, the narrative change that you have brought to the table.
Africa owes you.
Thank you.
We will now listen to our final speaker today.
His Excellency, Mr.
Milana, Namar Singh Miaban, the permanent representative of Mauritius to the United Nations here in New York and chair of the Africa Group for the month of May.
Your Excellency, thank you very much for really having us playing host and helping in the organization of this event.
The floor is now yours to deliver your closing remarks.
Thank you.
I have the honor to make some closing remarks on behalf of the African group.
At the outset, I wish to commend the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa, the African Union, the United Nations system, and all partners involved in organizing this important initiative under the theme Water and Sanitation for Life, harnessing water resources for the Africa we want.
This year's theme is both timely and strategic.
For Africa, water and sanitation are not only development priorities, they are central to the realization of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
They are indispensable to human dignity, economic transformation, food security, public health, energy systems, climate resilience, environmental sustainability, and peace.
The discussions held throughout the ADS 2026 process have reaffirmed an important reality.
Africa's development trajectory will increasingly depend on its ability to sustainably manage, protect, and leverage its water resources.
Despite notable progress achieved across the continent, significant challenges remain.
Millions of Africans still lack access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services, while climate change, rapid urbanization, desertification, droughts, floods, and growing demographic pressures continue to intensify water insecurity across many regions.
At the same time, Africa possesses immense opportunities.
The continent's water resources, if sustainably managed and equitably governed, can serve as powerful drivers of industrialization, agricultural transformation, energy access, regional integration, and sustainable urban development.
In this regard, the African group welcomes the growing emphasis placed on integrated and forward looking approaches to water governance, including integrated water resources management and the water energy food ecosystem nexus approach.
The discussions under the three sub themes of the ADS 2026 have highlighted the importance of strengthening resilient infrastructure and water governance systems, advancing climate adaptation and sustainable financing, promoting innovation and digital solutions, supporting sustainable urbanization and industrial development, reinforcing transboundary water cooperation, and ensuring inclusive participation of women and youth in water governance and decision making process.
Africa's rapidly growing urban population presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
Reliable water and sanitation systems are foundational to productive cities, resilient communities, public health, and competitive economies.
Investments in sustainable water infrastructure are therefore investments in Africa's future prosperity, stability, and resilience.
Similarly, water security remains intrinsically linked to food systems, renewable energy transitions, environmental sustainability, and conflict prevention.
Strengthening cooperation over shared water resources will remain essential to advancing regional stability and collective development across the continent.
The African Group wishes to reiterate the importance of strengthening international cooperation and partnerships in support of Africa's water and sanitation priorities.
This includes scaling up investment in climate resilient infrastructure, enhancing access to finance and technology, strengthening institutional and technical capacities, and supporting African led solutions and regional initiatives.
As we advance toward the 2026 United Nations Water Conference and other major global processes, it remains essential that Africa's priorities, realities, and perspectives continue to be fully reflected within international discussions on sustainable water governance.
The African group reaffirms its commitment to working constructively with all partners to advance practical, inclusive and sustainable solutions capable of accelerating progress toward SDG six and the aspirations of Agenda 2063.
Let us therefore seize the momentum generated through ADS 2026 to translate dialogue into concrete action, stronger partnerships, and lasting impact for the peoples of Africa.
I thank you.
Thank you, Excellency, and through you to the Africa group, a big thank you from all of us for the way this group has consistently amplified Africa's voice on the global stage.
I also want to extend big thanks to Madame Date and her team at OSA.
For the tireless efforts that went into making this dialogue series a success.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends.
As we now close the Africa Dialogue Series 2026, we do so with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose.
This year's dialogue anchored in the African Union's theme of the year on water and sanitation has affirmed our collective commitment to advancing Africa's priorities through inclusive, resilient and sustainable pathways.
Over these days, we have heard about bold ideas.
We have heard about shared practical solutions.
We've also heard about strengthened partnerships and the imperative of collaboration.
But the true measure of our success begins really now.
Beyond these conversations in the actions we take together, it takes a village, they say, to govern Africa's water.
It takes a village to protect Africa's water.
It takes a village to finance Africa's water, and it takes a village to deliver Africa's water where it matters most.
Let us, all of us, carry this momentum forward to the high level political forum where Africa's voice must be clear, united and impactful in accelerating progress on the SDGs.
Let us build further toward the UN Water Conference at the end of the year, ensuring that water security, sustainability, and equity remain at the heart of our development agenda.
Our call to action is quite simple.
Translate dialogue into delivery.
Scale what works, I where it matters most and ensure that no one is left behind.
Thank you all for your dedication, partnership patience.
The journey continues and together, we will deliver that Africa that we want, which is the Africa the world needs.
Madame Dan, thank you all very much and have a rest of your day, good one and a happy weekend.
Thank you.
Thank you.