The purpose of the visit was to better understand the functioning of the regional and national entities of the GWP network and its relationships with its partners. To this end, the mission's discussions focused on the institutional organization of GWP partnerships in Central Africa, their capacity to promote and influence water resources management and their added value for partners.
Thus, physical and electronic meetings (skype) were held with the GWP-CAf secretariat, the Chairman of the GWP CAf Steering Committee, two members of the GWP-CAf Scientific and Technical Committee, the CWPs of Cameroon and Sao Tome and Principe, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), representatives of the Water and Climate Network of Youth Organisations in Central Africa (RECOJAC) and some key partners of GWP Cameroon such as the Ministry of Water and Energy (MINEE), the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNDP. During the meetings, Mr. KISTLER presented the strategic axes of intervention of the SDC's Water Programme (Water Voice, Water Governance, Water solutions). After his presentation, it emerged that the GWP-CAf and the SDC share pillars of intervention such as youth and gender.
The importance of the mission was highlighted by the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Cameroon, His Excellency Pietro Lazzeri, during an exchange dinner that he organized, which brought together about 20 participants (representatives of the partners met by the mission, and technical and financial partners from the water sector in Cameroon).
At the end of the mission, Mr. KISTLER stated: "GWP is recognized as an important actor in the water management field in Cameroon and more broadly in the region and is extremely well connected". According to him, "the GWP CAf is recognized by the various partners as a relevant and important entity that carries out quality work". He also assured the GWP-CAf Secretariat team that this visit will greatly enrich the exchanges to give new perspectives to the partnership between the SDC and the GWP network at the global level.