Bill Gates pumps $6 million into Africa’s water facility

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is continuing to gain a foothold in the richest continent on earth, this time making a commitment of $6 million towards the African Water Facility.

The aim of the fund is to support the operationalization of the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII), said the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The African Water Facility, a special project preparation fund established as an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is hosted and managed by the bank.

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The initiative, according to AfDB, will come as a response to improve urban access to safely managed sanitation in Africa, which is rapidly urbanizing at a present rate of 47%. Across the continent, the percentage of the population with access to at least basic sanitation is below 45%, and around 10% of urban premises are served by sewerage systems, with 90% non-sewered sanitation.

The initiative will support African governments, utilities, municipal authorities, private sector, and civil societies to create and scale access to sanitation that is safe and sustainable with special consideration for the urban poor, the bank explained.

In 2018, the African Water Facility and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed an initial contribution agreement of $14.5 million to pilot the City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) project through feasibility studies and design in seven countries: Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo.

“We are delighted to be setting up the new urban sanitation dedicated financing window within the African Water Facility. We value the strong partnership that we hold with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and this commitment will allow us to allocate more resources for innovative solutions aimed at improving urban sanitation in African countries,” said Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Coordinator of the African Water Facility.