Background

In June 2017, the Government of the Republic of South Africa, under the aegis of the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) commissioned the Global Water Partnership (GWP) to develop a legacy initiative of the HLPW in Africa. In response, the Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) was developed by GWP in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) and the HLPW Secretariat at the World Bank/UN.

The HLPW was co-convened in 2016 by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and charged with the dual responsibility of motivating effective action; and advocating for innovation, partnerships, financing and implementation of initiatives to improve water management and sanitation services delivery, as well as build more sustainable and resilient societies and economies. The High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) membership comprises of 11 sitting Heads of State and Government from Australia, Bangladesh, Hungary, Jordan, South Africa, Mauritius (co-chair), Mexico (co-chair), Netherlands, Peru, Senegal and Tajikistan, and also a Special Advisor.

The goal of the Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) is to transform and improve the investment outlook for water security and sustainable sanitation for a prosperous, peaceful and equitable society.

AIP is expected to mobilise at least US$100 million by 2020, US$500 million by 2030. Using the targeted AfDB leveraging ratio of 1:60, the AIP will leverage investments in the range of US$30 billion (2.5 billion/year) towards Africa’s annual water sector finance requirement of at least US $50 billion for the 20 years since 2009 (AU; AMCOW; AfDB, 2009).

AIP will strengthen the business case for investments in water security and climate resilience, and prepare bankable projects as instruments to stimulate transformative economic growth while addressing the root causes of migration, youth unemployment, and gender inequality. AIP will support implementation of the relevant outcomes of the HLPW related to enhancing water security, industrialisation, climate resilience, job creation and SDG implementation in Africa.

AIP is implemented by African countries with support from Global Water Partnership (GWP) in collaboration with the AfDB, World Bank, African Union, African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), NEPAD, and other partners.

AIP interventions on climate resilience are implemented through the Water, Climate Development Programme (WACDEP), a programme of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) executed by the Global Water Partnership. WACDEP supports countries to integrate water security and climate resilience into development planning decision-making processes, industrialization, job creation and SDG implementation.

Page last edited: 7/26/2018

To access support from the GCF for climate resilience-building water projects, countries need to present projects designed for impact – reflected through prioritized project ideas, compelling concept notes, and comprehensive funding proposals. However, capacity limitations constrain countries in identifying and preparing catalytic water-related adaptation interventions. Limited understanding of the GCF’s funding modalities and proposal requirements poses further barriers for countries wishing to access GCF resources for adaptation planning and projects.

Technical assistance can help enable developing countries to prepare well-prioritised climate resilience-building water projects that can attract funding from the GCF. Ccountries are seeking clarification on the structured, yet evolving GCF funding modalities, especially around enhanced direct access, its range of financing instruments and project proposal requirements.