#UNGA81 International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa

On the margins of #UNGA81 in New York, H.E. Dr. Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of #Namibia, chaired the International High-Level Panel on #Water Investments for Africa and Global Cooperation, with the participation of H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission; H.E. Cheikh Niang, Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal, representing H.E. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye; & H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Chair of the Global High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah underscored that Africa's water challenge is fundamentally one of underinvestment & implementation. She highlighted Namibia's efforts to expand & diversify water infrastructure, including through desalination, & called for accelerated investment pipelines, strengthened project preparation & de-risking mechanisms, & increased mobilisation of finance ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.

Representing #Senegal, Minister Cheikh Niang reaffirmed the country's commitment, as co-host of the 2026 UN Water Conference, to placing water investment at the centre of concrete outcomes. He stressed the importance of transforming identified projects into bankable, investment-ready initiatives, supported by effective de-risking and blended-finance mechanisms.

The AU Commission Chairperson, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, highlighted the continental scale of the challenge, noting the need for approximately $50 billion annually to achieve water security and sanitation by 2030. He underscored the significant socio-economic returns of water investments & called for strengthened collective action, early-warning systems, contingency planning & resource mobilisation in response to climate change & other external shocks.

Former President Jakaya Kikwete, in his capacity as a member/co-chair of the water investment initiative, further contributed to the discussions on advancing Africa's water investment agenda.

Speakers reaffirmed the imperative of moving from commitments & project identification to tangible, bankable & implementable investments, while strengthening international partnerships ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi.