About CIWA: a Regional Approach

For more than 10 years, the CIWA Program, managed by the World Bank, has been addressing challenges that cross borders and helping national and regional institutions come together for the common good. CIWA makes investments to develop water infrastructure and offers technical support and analyses to create a better understanding of transboundary water issues so that governments, river basin organizations, and other stakeholders can make sound, evidence-based decisions.

CIWA’s projects, analyses, knowledge generation, and investments to achieve the regional public good of cooperation on transboundary waters and create resilience to shocks are fully aligned with the World Bank’s enhanced mission to foster sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.

Afrique de l’Ouest et Afrique centrale 

West and Central Africa faces increasing climate change impacts, including prolonged drought and unpredictable rainy seasons. The Sahel also suffers from fragility, violence, weak institutions, and political instability. In a region with widespread gender inequality, CIWA is working to ensure the equitable participation of women in decision making about water resources. It also is improving water security by addressing knowledge and capacity gaps, identifying investments and policy actions, and emphasizing the sustainable management and development of groundwater. 

Afrique de l’Est 

East Africa faces numerous challenges, including food and water insecurity, growing violence and conflict, and climate change impacts. CIWA, which grew out of the progress made by the Nile Basin Trust Fund in water resources management and development in that basin, continues to enhance the region’s resilience to climate change and water insecurity through advancing water disaster mitigation and early warning systems.

Le Nile Cooperation for Climate Resilience (NCCR) supports regional coordination on dam safety policies and flood early-warning systems in the Nile Basin

Corne de l’Afrique 

The Horn of Africa is facing cascading impacts from the worst drought in four decades, which CIWA is working to ameliorate. CIWA also is improving access to groundwater through nature-based infrastructure as the region’s cornerstone of water security. It is expanding the knowledge base on groundwater, strengthening the capacity of partners to manage and develop this valuable resource, working to understand the influences of water insecurity on FCV situations, and improving regional initiatives to build resilience.  

Untapping Resilience in the Horn of Africa (HoA) is increasing knowledge and capacity about the role of groundwater in regional water integration.

Afrique australe 

Prolonged drought conditions in Southern Africa are fueling food and water insecurity, poverty, and economic fragility. CIWA is addressing the region’s significant challenges managing its increasingly important groundwater resources. It is building resilience to drought by addressing cross-border drought risks, improving management of shared waters, and facilitating cooperation around sustainable management of transboundary aquifers and river basins. 

In May 2023, CIWA supported key stakeholders on transboundary water resources management from river basin organizations (RBOs) to meet in Kampala, Uganda. They committed to regional integration by strengthening collaboration mechanisms and linkages between RBOs, leveraging the financial and technical resources of development partners through transboundary cooperation arrangements, and improving data and information exchange.

Cross-cutting engagements

CIWA’s activities are cross-sectoral, including:

• Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI),
• Biodiversity and conservation,
• Climate resilience,
• Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV),
• Data initiatives

The partnership works to ensure that people and property are protected from water-related shocks and that they can sustain and use the valuable resource of water.

CIWA Program: Achieving its goals by focusing on its three I’s

CIWA’s work to safeguard, manage, and develop water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa is essential to people’s lives, livelihoods, communities, and countries. CIWA strives to do this by advancing three pillars:

CIWA encourage la poursuite d’une démarche concertée afin de gérer les risques communs et de partager équitablement les avantages socio-économiques en incitant les pays à collaborer pour partager les informations, renforcer les institutions et promouvoir des investissements durables. Ces efforts contribuent à réduire les conflits liés aux ressources et à renforcer l’intégration régionale de manière à promouvoir une croissance économique durable, la réduction de la pauvreté et la résilience face au changement climatique.

RÉPONSE AU COVID-19

La pandémie de COVID-19 et ses retombées socio-économiques ont mis en évidence la contribution cruciale de l’eau au maintien des populations en bonne santé et à la poursuite d’une reprise résiliente. Elle a également accentué les vulnérabilités aux chocs liés à l’eau et au climat, et fait ressortir les défis que l’Afrique doit relever pour garantir l’accès à l’eau et ainsi améliorer la santé et préserver la vie des populations, accroître la prospérité économique et améliorer la résilience au changement climatique.  

As every country works to contain the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its impact, the World Bank Group has mounted the largest crisis response in its history to help developing countries navigate the pandemic. From April 2020 to March 2021, the World Bank committed more than $200 billion to address the pandemic, tailored to the health, economic, and social shocks that each country is facing.

Le pôle mondial d’expertise en eau de la Banque mondiale, dont CIWA fait partie, met l’accent sur les mesures de préparation et de riposte d’urgence, l’atténuation des effets secondaires et le renforcement de la résilience en vue des épidémies à venir. Étant donné les liens entre les ressources en eau, les services d’approvisionnement en eau, les moyens de subsistance et la sécurité alimentaire, CIWA soutient activement les efforts déployés par le pôle mondial d’expertise en eau pour lutter contre la COVID-19 dans tous ces domaines.

Les ressources en eau resteront essentielles non seulement pour assurer une reprise inclusive, durable et plus efficace, mais aussi pour atteindre les objectifs des pays dans les domaines du développement et du climat. Dans ce contexte, CIWA contribue de manière importante à jeter les bases d’un avenir plus bleu, plus vert et plus résilient.