Nigeria contributes $1m to Africa Water Facility

Nigeria contributes $1m to Africa Water Facility

Nigeria contributes $1m to Africa Water Facility

By Alex Abutu

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to contribute one million dollars (N169.5 million) to the African Water Facility to address the critical gaps African countries face in the provision of water and sanitation to many needy people.

Buhari made the pledge at the just concluded 10th anniversary celebration of the African Water Facility which held in Abuja.

“The socio-economic importance of investment in water is self-explanatory. More than any other sector, water impacts on all the main themes of development agenda such as food security, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, gender development, education, health and good governance,” he said.

The president, who was represented by Engr Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, noted that statistics showed that the continent was facing challenges in the development and management of its water resources’ potentials to meet potable water supply, sanitation, irrigation, hydro-power and trans-boundary water management.

“The financing requirements for water security infrastructure are enormous. Financing the required water infrastructure for Africa is estimated at $20 billion a year from 2000 to 2025,” he added.

He called on other African states to accord increased priority to the water sector in their budgetary allocations given the constraints on public and official development assistance financing.

“Clearly, it is no longer acceptable that the African continent continues to utilise only 40 per cent of its water resources when a huge proportion of the people do not have access to safe water, and when large populations are faced with frequent floods and droughts, in addition to food and energy shortages,” the president added.

African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative of African Minister’s Council on Water (AMCOW) to mobilize resources for the water and sanitation sector in order to meet up with the MDGs/ SDGs water and sanitation related goals and the African Vision 2025.

The fund is being managed by the African Development Bank (ADB).