More than 140 decision makers and representatives of government, civil society, international organisations, donors, financing institutions, and the private and banking sector, came together for 3 days sharing experiences and discussing needs, challenges and next steps during the “Conference on Water Governance in MENA and wider Mediterranean region” that was held in Barcelona, on 12-14 December. The Regional Conference was organised under the auspices of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), by two UfM-labelled projects supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), namely the Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector project led by GWP-Med, and the Regional Water Integrity Capacity Building Programme in MENA, led by SIWI UNDP Water Governance Facility. The Conference was organised in close and strategic synergy with the EU-funded Sustainable Water Integrated Management and Horizon 2020 Support Mechanism (SWIM-H2020 SM) regional project.

Global Water Partnership Southern Africa supported the inception of the development of a comprehensive strategy for resource mobilization during the just-ended Zambia Stakeholder’s consultation workshop in Lusaka.

Three African countries on the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW)-South Africa, Mauritius, in collaboration with Senegal; with support from Global Water Partnership and its partners, will implement an Africa legacy initiative as a follow up on the recommendations and outcomes of the HLPW.

Global Water Partnership (GWP) Africa undertook an inception mission in Madagascar to support the design of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) work on Climate resilience mainstreaming into the water sector and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in the country aligning it to the country National Adaptation Planning process.

The High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) was set out to raise the profile of water in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), says Dr. Oyun Sanjaasuren, Chair Global Water Partnership Organization (GWPO).

The interdependence between Water, Energy and Food security (WEF) offers opportunities for stronger collaboration among the three sectors, thus increasing the strength of tackling the region’s developmental Agenda leading to the achievement of the SADC Goals of Peace and Stability, Regional Integration, Industrialisation and Poverty Eradication.

Global Water Partnership Southern Africa Partners adopted strategic repositioning towards water security, job creation, industrialization and SDG implementation in June 2017.

The 3rd Consultation Workshop on enhancing the potential for Private Sector Participation in Water Infrastructure in Lebanon, with emphasis on the role of Banks was organised in Beirut on the 8th November 2017, as part of the National Policy Dialogue on Water Governance and Financing. The Workshop involved more than 25 targeted representatives of relevant public institutions, private banks, regional organisations and NGOs.

Five experts, a Special Advisor and a Gender Expert have been appointed to join GWP-SA-Africa Coordination Unit to boost the drive towards the SADC industrialization, job creation and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda.