Urgent Call for Africa to Close Water and Climate Gaps by 2030
African governments must take urgent and coordinated action to bridge a widening investment deficit and accelerate progress towards universal access to climate-resilient water and sanitation services by 2030, according to Sanitation and Water for All (SWA).
Globally, an annual shortfall of US$130 billion is hampering progress, with Africa alone requiring an additional US$30 billion each year to meet rising water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and climate resilience needs.
These concerns gained renewed prominence in October when nearly 50 ministerial-level delegates gathered in Madrid for the 2025 Sector Ministers’ Meeting, where they agreed on a five-pillar framework to integrate WASH and climate objectives within national and global policies. For African representatives, the meeting offered a critical opportunity to ensure that the continent’s priorities were strongly reflected ahead of COP30 and the UN 2026 Water Conference.
The resulting High-Level Leaders Compact – The Madrid Commitment to Action urges countries to embed WASH and climate priorities into national adaptation plans and development strategies. Progress remains slow across the continent: UNEP data shows that 71% of African countries were performing at medium-low or very low levels of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) implementation in 2018.
By 2024, none of the continent’s sub-regions were on track to reach the SDG 6.5 target of “Very High” implementation by 2030. The stagnation, SWA argues, reflects governance gaps that cannot be solved through isolated projects but require stronger institutional alignment and political leadership.
The compact also calls for governments to adopt inclusive, rights-based approaches to service delivery. Despite improvements since the 1990s, Africa continues to face serious inequalities. According to WHO and UNICEF, one in four people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lacks safely managed drinking water, and two in five lack safely managed sanitation.
Women, girls, persons with disabilities, Indigenous groups and displaced communities remain especially vulnerable. Ministers are therefore encouraged to use high-quality, disaggregated data to identify underserved groups and ensure that future investments are transparently and effectively targeted.
Climate resilience is another key priority. Recent studies show a clear connection between environmental degradation, water scarcity and human displacement. A 2025 report by the Sudanese American Physicians Association revealed that two million people in East Africa had already been displaced due to drought and conflict, with rapid urban migration increasing pressure on cities such as Nairobi. Earth.org has projected that climate-related water scarcity could displace up to 700 million Africans by 2030.
In response, the compact urges governments to move beyond reactive measures and incorporate risk assessments, nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration into all levels of planning to address the root causes of environmental vulnerability.
Financing remains a central obstacle. Africa continues to attract minimal private investment in its water sector, with the World Bank reporting that public-private partnerships account for just three percent of water-sector funding on the continent. The compact therefore encourages countries to mobilise additional domestic and international resources by improving investor incentives, strengthening project pipelines and deploying de-risking instruments.
Mechanisms such as green and blue bonds, results-based financing and well-structured public-private partnerships could significantly expand financing for water security when supported by efficient governance and policy coherence.
The final priority calls for strengthened political leadership and accountability. Poor sanitation and inadequate water access currently cost Sub-Saharan Africa an estimated five percent of its annual GDP. The compact warns that fragmented policies, weak coordination and inconsistent financing continue to impede progress, and urges governments to ensure that water and sanitation remain high on national and international policy agendas.
Ministers committed to working with SWA to strengthen mutual accountability mechanisms aligned with SDG 6 indicators, national systems and broad multi-stakeholder engagement.
Since its release, the Madrid Commitment on Water Security, Sanitation and Climate Resilience has been endorsed by 29 countries, including 16 African nations such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Civil society networks, including ANEW and the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation, along with UNICEF and other international partners, have also endorsed the compact and are calling for its swift implementation across the continent.
SWA has urged more African governments to join, noting that high-level commitment is essential to advancing water security, sanitation access and climate resilience—pillars critical to public health, economic development and environmental sustainability.
For 15 years, the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, hosted by UNICEF, has brought together governments, civil society, the private sector and development organisations to uphold the human rights to water and sanitation for all. With over 500 partners worldwide, SWA continues to drive political commitment, strengthen institutions and promote accountability to achieve lasting change.
