The question of access to water and sanitation, crucial issues for sustainable development, now crosses national borders, underlined Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, Senegalese Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation. During the closing ceremony of the workshop of the Francophone African Alliance for Water and Sanitation (AAFEA) in Sangalkam, he recalled that Vision Senegal 2050 fully recognizes that the challenges linked to water and sanitation cannot be resolved without regional cooperation and collective action between West and Central African countries.
Common challenges that require regional cooperation
This observation was made during the AAFEA workshop, which was held from December 11 to 16, 2024, at Lac Rose, in the Rufisque department. This meeting brought together nine civil society organizations from the region to discuss the issue of the effectiveness of human rights to water and sanitation in West and Central Africa. The discussions helped to highlight the difficulties communities face in accessing these essential resources and to strengthen cooperation between countries to guarantee sustainable water management.
Cheikh Tidiane Dièye underlined that this workshop demonstrates the collective commitment of AAFEA member countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and particularly Goal 6 relating to drinking water and sanitation. According to him, this commitment is essential to positively impact local communities, highlighting the importance of cross-border cooperation to resolve common challenges.
“Your collective commitment strengthens our faith in a united and united Africa, capable of building its future on the basis of cooperation and sharing,” he declared.
The essential role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
At the end of the work, AAFEA members formulated a declaration highlighting the key role of civil society organizations (CSOs). According to this declaration, CSOs not only have a vital role in the legal and political recognition of the right to water and sanitation, but they must also ensure that these rights are realized at the local and national level.
The AAFEA, which brings together civil society collectives in 10 countries in West and Central Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad and Togo), works to make access to drinking water and sanitation a universal human right. These collectives expressed several messages addressed to political decision-makers to make this right effective for all, in particular by intensifying efforts to guarantee universal access to water in the most vulnerable regions.
A sustainable development issue
Access to water and sanitation is a strategic issue for the economic and social development of Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still live without direct access to drinking water. Efforts to resolve these issues are all the more important as access to these resources is directly linked to issues of public health, food security and climate resilience.
In this sense, Vision Senegal 2050 highlights the need to strengthen regional cooperation mechanisms to face transnational water challenges, particularly through the integration of local solutions and the management of shared river basins.
The call for collective action
The workshop organized by AAFEA and the discussions on the problem of access to water and sanitation reinforced the conviction that regional cooperation and political commitments are essential to achieve universal access to water drinking and sanitation. This type of initiative is crucial to transforming the vision of Vision Senegal 2050 into a palpable reality, thus providing a model to follow for other countries in the region and beyond. Collective action and unity will be the keys to confronting these challenges and ensuring that the Africa of tomorrow will be an Africa where every citizen has access to clean water and quality sanitation services.
Moctar FICUU / VivAfrik
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