The African Water Facility will launch the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII) on the sidelines of the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

The Facility, hosted by the African Development Bank Group, is the only project preparation and promotion facility solely dedicated to water and sanitation in Africa. 

 

The Facility will, through the new sanitation financing window, mobilise and deploy financing, prepare bankable and investment-ready projects, and implement innovative and inclusive approaches such as the city-wide inclusive sanitation approach, which promotes tailor-made sanitation solutions for neighbourhoods and cities. 

 

The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative will function as a new financing window for urban sanitation within the African Water Facility, addressing the sanitation challenges in African cities.

 

Over the next 10 years, the Facility aims to provide 15 million people with safely-managed sanitation services through 50 projects, and attract $7 billion in additional investments

 

Despite sanitation being a fundamental human right, critical to public health, environmental sustainability, and overall well-being, Africa has one of the lowest access rates in the world. 

 

An estimated 779 million people on the continent lack basic sanitation services, and 839 million lack basic hygiene services. 

 

The African Development Bank estimates that every year, the number of people without access to urban sanitation increases by more than 10 million, due to rapid population growth.