SADC to Launch Regional Water Supply and Sanitation Programme

Newton Sibanda
September 22, 2012

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will Monday next week launch a programme that aims to establish a regional framework for effective water supply and sanitation planning and management to help member states achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) addressing water supply and sanitation.

According to a statement from SADC Water Division spokesperson Barbara Lopi, the SADC Regional Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (RWSSP) will be launched in Johannesburg, South Africa, at a workshop to be attended by over 60 delegates from ministries responsible for water and sanitation in SADC member states, and representatives from agencies implementing water and sanitation interventions.

The delegates will dialogue on issues affecting the water and sanitation sector with specific focus on the five thematic areas identified within the RWSSP namely:
• Financing Strategies and Tools;
• Institutional Rationalization and Strengthening;
• Infrastructure Development Support;
• Monitoring and Reporting; and
• Knowledge Management, Advocacy

(RWSSP) is a 22 month-long initiative funded by the African Development Bank through the Africa Water Facility.

It is an integral component of SADC’s current Regional Strategic Action Plan (RSAP) on Integrated Water Resources Development and Management which runs from 2011 to 2015.