The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Steering Committee announced the appointment of Mr Darío Soto-Abril (pictured) as GWP Executive Secretary, effective March 1, 2021. Soto-Abril joins GWP after serving as Global CEO at Fairtrade International since February 2017.

Climate change is getting worse. Floods, droughts and rising sea levels are threatening sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks to treatment plants. It is against this backdrop that World Toilet Day is celebrated on 19 November, raising awareness of the 4.2 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation. GWP celebrates the day by showcasing five Water ChangeMaker stories, providing hope that change is possible.

The people living along the Lake Nokoué - Porto Novo Lagoon Complex are facing severe problems with te proliferation invasive plants. To help them cope with these problems, CWP-Benin has obtained financing from the Special Climate and Development Fund (CDSF) of the African Development Bank for the implementation of the project "Strengthening Investments for a Climate Change Resilient Development in the Lake Nokoué - Porto Novo Lagoon Complex".

As part of the implementation of the governance component of the OmiDelta/Non-State Actors Fund program, implemented by the Consortium, CWP Benin-Social Watch Benin-ALCRER, five Communes were supported in the development of their Integrity Action Plan.

The ECOWAS Water Resources Management Center (WRMC) held virtual meetings with various regional stakeholders including GWP-WA to discuss ways to improve the regional contribution and participation the 9th World Water Forum to be held in Dakar.

GWP-WA’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Armand HOUANYE and Communication manager, Sidi COULIBALY participated in the first virtual meeting of the Steering Committee of the IUCN-PACO’s new programme on water governance and environment known as PREE together with partners from Central and West Africa.

In Somalia, water is life - literally. It is also a country where much is happening today. The one-person-one-vote election to take place in early 2021 will be a historic milestone in the country’s road back to security, stability, and wellbeing. The economy is growing, driven by increased confidence, reforms, and bank development, and the business community is resilient, globally connected, and entrepreneurial. New opportunities for economic cooperation and integration on the Horn of Africa plays to the country’s advantage. Still, water remains a critical factor in Somalia’s development pathway. It is a water scarce country, at risk of climate related variability, and has to improve its capacity to manage water well in coming years.

12 November (Pretoria) – Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, (DBSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which seeks to promote investment and collaboration for water and sanitation projects in the Southern Africa region.

From October 12 GWP-WA Secretariat has a new staff. The recruitment process of the WACDEP-G programme manager was concluded by the recruitment Mr. Joseph Yaovi KOGBE, as the Regional Program Officer of AIP WACDEP-G West Africa.