The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD – formerly the NEPAD Coordination Agency), in collaboration with COMESA, AMCOW, AfDB, GWP Africa, and with support from GIZ, convened a PIDA Water Programme Stakeholders’ Workshop in Lusaka, Zambia from 24 to 26 April 2019.
While some countries continue to treat climate change as a hoax, the Zambian government has called on the international community to accept the view by scientists that unless world governments act quickly, planet earth faces the real risk of endangering all life forms by 2030.
The NEPAD Agency and Global Water Partnership (GWP) on 26 November 2018 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the implementation of priority continental water infrastructure projects within the framework of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Africa Investment Programme (AIP).
Africa's population is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2030, which translates into a need to produce at least 50% more food; and at least a tenfold increase in water needs for energy production to support socio-economic development. These challenges and the resultant increase in water demand are further aggravated by rapid urbanization and industrialisation. This requires huge investments in water to satisfy the social and economic demands among other things.
Gender mainstreaming is about identifying gender gaps and making the concerns and priorities of women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ integral to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes so that developmental benefits are relevant, and are shared equally.
Recent droughts and floods in Southern Africa region have served as a reminder that a silo approach to planning and investing in water security is no longer suitable due to changing climate and pressure on natural resources.