ICA’s Areas of Focus
Enhancing coordination, increasing knowledge and sharing information are key aspects of the ICA Secretariat’s work. In the water and sanitation sector, the ICA’s work is primarily delivered by the ICA’s Water Platform, which strives to scale-up financing for sustainable water infrastructure in Africa, and is in line with the Platform’s mandate to facilitate resource mobilisation and regional programmes.
In addition to engagement through the 2016 ICA Annual Meeting, the Secretariat’s activities in the water and sanitation sector during 2016 included:
Providing financial support to the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) to help ensure the successful preparation and organisation of the PIDACC (Programme for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change) donors’ roundtable in Abuja, Nigeria, on 1 June 2016. The main components of the PIDACC programme are (a) Restoring and conserving the Niger Basin’s ecosystem, (b) Improving the conditions of the people who live around the Basin and implementing support measures in the context of climate change, and (c) Building the capacities of those responsible for managing natural resources at local, national and regional levels. The ICA’s financial support helped in the organisation of the event, in particular promotional activities and the preparation and dissemination of project data from the member countries of the Niger Basin.
Providing further financial support to help ensure the successful implementation of the next phase of the Water and Climate Development Programme – WACDEP. Managed and implemented by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the WACDEP aims to integrate water security and climate resilience in development planning processes, build climate resilience and support countries to adapt to a new climate regime through increased investments in water security. During the first WACDEP phase, ICA’s contribution to the programme helped to develop 20 project concept notes and leveraged financing of €15.5m to take the projects further.
Presenting the Nexus study to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) Reference Group on Infrastructure in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2016. Commissioned by the International Water Association (IWA) on behalf of the ICA, the study - “Nexus Trade-offs and Strategies for Addressing the Water, Agriculture and Energy Security Nexus in Africa” - provides an overview of selected regional challenges and opportunities for multipurpose infrastructure and provides a framework to assess how current and upcoming infrastructure projects manage these challenges. The ICA presented the study to a broad audience of donors and African stakeholders, outlining the findings of the study and the potential ways to take forward the Nexus approach into cross-border and regional investment planning.
Jointly organising and co-financing the First Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP) investment projects conference, which took place on 2 June 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. One of two investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), NELSAP promotes investment in power development & trade, river basin management & development, agricultural trade & productivity and fisheries & watershed management. The ICA’s funding supported NELSAP to prepare and implement the investment conference through procuring a lead conference consultant and a communications consultant, funding consultative and preparatory meetings and publishing material.
Sponsoring the 6th Africa Water Week and the 10th General Assembly of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), which took place in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, from 18 to 22 July 2016. A key outcome from the meeting was the adoption, by over 30 African water ministers and delegations from over 50 African countries, of a roadmap aimed at achieving sustainable and universal access to safe water and sanitation across Africa, through improving efficiency and transparency while creating a conducive investment climate.
During 2017 the ICA Secretariat’s work in the water and sanitation sector will include:
Continuing support for the African Ministers’ Council on Water and for the organisation of the next Africa Water Week.
Continuing support and assistance for the next phase of the Water and Climate Development Programme – WACDEP – in particular support with the preparation of climate resilient projects to facilitate their access to climate change funds.