Africa

WOP-AFRICA

WOP-Africa was established as a sub-program of the African Water Association (AfWA) in Johannesburg in 2007 by representatives of over 50 African Water Utilities. The regional platform for WOPs on the continent was established with support from UN-HABITAT, the Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank and the International Water Association.

Although twinning and partnerships had long been practiced in Africa, the Hashimoto action plan created the momentum and political will to build an African platform to significantly scale up WOPs on the continent. Thus the idea of establishing a regional WOP initiative for Africa was developed with the overall goal of supporting African countries in their efforts to achieve universal coverage for WATSAN services with the MDGs as a common benchmark.

GWOPA supported the first year of the platform by funding the position of the Programme Manager for one year, supporting initial twinning activities and helping the African Water Association to approach donors and to secure funds for the program. As a result of fundraising efforts, USAID committed 1.5 million USD and the African Water Facility of the African Development Bank 0.742 million USD. This funding is supporting core activities and a Secretariat (a Program Manager, a Program Officer and an Administrative Assistant).

Activities

Governance