By Ofentse Mokae
09 November 2009
The second water week conference starting today in Johannesburg and runs until Friday, will focus its attention on establishing a sustainable roadmap on increasing Africa’s water supply.
In Africa, about 350 million people do not have access to water.
The annual water week is a project of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).
The department of water affairs says a reduction in the number of Africans without access to water is yet to be achieved.
In a statement the council says to reduce the number of Africans that are still living without adequate access to water is challenging.
“Our efforts in providing water access to areas in need are fruitful, however, it cannot be seen owing to the ever-increasing African population,” says AMCOW executive secretary Bai-Mass Taal.
Taal stresses the importance and need for Africa Water Week, to be able to reach and carry forward the commitments made at the Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt meeting, which was an African Union (AU) summit on water and sanitation.
Presently, only 26 countries are doing well in supplying water to the poor however, there are countries that are off track owing to a lack in financial resources and adequate policy planning.
The meetings at the Africa Water Week summit are expected to be able to come up with a national plan for each country to invest in itself and meet commitments made.
Africa Water Week will be both unique and innovative in character as the main focus will be on implementation and partnership.
It will bring together a strong unity of purpose to address the critical issue of water and sanitation, which is key to sustainable development on the continent.
09 November 2009
The second water week conference starting today in Johannesburg and runs until Friday, will focus its attention on establishing a sustainable roadmap on increasing Africa’s water supply.
In Africa, about 350 million people do not have access to water.
The annual water week is a project of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).
The department of water affairs says a reduction in the number of Africans without access to water is yet to be achieved.
In a statement the council says to reduce the number of Africans that are still living without adequate access to water is challenging.
“Our efforts in providing water access to areas in need are fruitful, however, it cannot be seen owing to the ever-increasing African population,” says AMCOW executive secretary Bai-Mass Taal.
Taal stresses the importance and need for Africa Water Week, to be able to reach and carry forward the commitments made at the Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt meeting, which was an African Union (AU) summit on water and sanitation.
Presently, only 26 countries are doing well in supplying water to the poor however, there are countries that are off track owing to a lack in financial resources and adequate policy planning.
The meetings at the Africa Water Week summit are expected to be able to come up with a national plan for each country to invest in itself and meet commitments made.
Africa Water Week will be both unique and innovative in character as the main focus will be on implementation and partnership.
It will bring together a strong unity of purpose to address the critical issue of water and sanitation, which is key to sustainable development on the continent.
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