How SWA’s Heads of State Initiatives and Upcoming Madrid Ministerial Meeting Support AU‑AIP Commitments
Heads of State discuss unlocking financing options through the Heads of State Initiative during the Financing for Development Conference, June 2025.
The upcoming AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit, held under the historic South African G20 Presidency — the first ever on African soil — is a strategic turning point. It is a generational opportunity to place safe water and sanitation at the core of Africa’s health, climate resilience, and economic future.
Water and Sanitation: A Strategic Imperative for Africa’s Future
Across the continent, climate-induced disasters — droughts, floods, cholera outbreaks, and forced displacement — are intensifying. Chronic under-investment and fragmented efforts leave millions without access to safe water or sanitation. Women, children, and marginalized communities are hit the hardest.
To break this cycle, water and sanitation must be elevated as a Heads of State priority and embedded into national development plans. The Summit provides the platform to do just that—through country-led strategies, national investment compacts, and sustained accountability.
This is also the strategy behind SWA's Heads of State Initiatives (HoSI) where national compacts give governments a high‑level platform to tackle systemic bottlenecks, unlock financing, and strengthen accountability across sectors.
The upcoming SWA Sector Ministers’ Meeting (SMM) will turn these political commitments into actionable financing pathways, using peer learning and coordinated national systems. Together, HoSI and SMM can generate momentum, secure investment, and ensure sustained action to protect lives and build resilience across Africa.
Seizing the G20 Political Mandate
The G20 Call to Action on Strengthening Drinking-water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services — adopted under the Brazilian G20 Presidency — represents a powerful political mandate to accelerate progress. The critical next step is to turn this mandate into tangible, nationally driven commitments that deliver results on the ground.
The AU-AIP Summit Outcome Document — to be presented to G20 leaders under South Africa’s historic presidency — must explicitly endorse and operationalize the Call to Action by embedding it into clear, actionable steps.
South Africa has a unique opportunity to lead by example, championing the development of integrated, costed investment pipelines — like those showcased at the Summit — to help close Africa’s $30 billion annual water investment gap.
The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM) offers a complementary framework to formalize these commitments, set measurable targets, and ensure transparent, aligned follow-up by all partners. Together, this political momentum and accountability framework can drive the scale and speed of investment Africa urgently needs.
Financing Resilient, Inclusive Systems
The road to resilience runs through well-financed, inclusive systems — not isolated projects. Ministers and partners must collaborate to:
Mobilize diversified financing, from domestic budgets to private capital
Promote gender-responsive budgeting and public-private partnerships
Scale climate-resilient infrastructure through innovative tools like blended finance
The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership, with over 15 years of experience supporting high-level dialogues and mutual accountability, will play a key role in helping governments translate political commitments into practical, costed pathways.
Inclusive Governance: Leaving No One Behind
Water and sanitation systems must be designed for everyone, especially those too often left behind: women, rural communities, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups.
At the Summit, leaders can commit to inclusive governance, professionalized service delivery, local authority support, and strong data systems to monitor and drive impact.
Connecting Global Moments for Sustained Action
The SWA Sector Ministers’ Meeting, taking place just months later in Madrid (October 22–23, 2025), will serve as a critical moment of follow-up. It will give African ministers and their peers worldwide a space to:
Convert AU-AIP commitments into concrete action plans
Share progress and challenges
Build cross-country peer learning alliances
Elevate Africa’s priorities in the lead-up to the 2026 UN Water Conference
A Defining Opportunity
The convergence of African leadership, G20 influence, and global momentum offers an unprecedented chance to transform water and sanitation access across the continent.
By acting decisively now, we can shape a future where every African enjoys their human right to water and sanitation, and where water becomes a cornerstone of sustainable development, health, and climate resilience.
Let’s not waste this moment.
