Yaoundé, Cameroon –
Utility leaders at the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA) Congress that took place this week from 9-12 February called for scaling up Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) to help African water and sanitation operators withstand intensifying climate shocks, warning that short funding cycles and weak cost recovery are slowing investment in resilience.
The call reflects a wider reshaping of water management to address climate realities: resilience is no longer treated as a stand-alone planning issue, but as a core operational and financial requirement for utilities. Speakers said progress now depends on embedding climate resilience measures in utility planning, budgeting and regulation, while aligning external financing with long-terms needs.
The Congress takes place as a critical time as Africa rolls out the Africa 2063 water strategy as a a blueprint for action to assure water security in pursuit of the goals of the African Union's Agenda 2063.
For the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA), facilitated by UN-Habitat, the AfWASA Congress, was a key moment to advance this agenda in the region where it has the largest concentration of partners and partnerships. Discussions also followed the relaunch of the Global WOPs Community, operated by GWOPA and WaterWorX with financial support from the Dutch Government and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
WOPs are key to building the capacity of African utilities to become climate resilient. In a dedicated session on climate resilience, GWOPA together with VEI and World Waternet convened utilities and partners to examine practical approaches to building climate resilience through peer collaboration. Participants emphasized that resilience gains are more likely to endure when linked to institutional performance, financial frameworks and long-term utility priorities.
Rose Kaggwa, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda and Chair of the GWOPA Assembly advocated that WOPs help utilities to identify performance gaps, benchmark with peers and translate technical learning into embedded, long-term action within utility planning frameworks. Complementing this perspective, VEI Climate Resilience Lead Gijs van Nes stressed that resilience measures are more durable when integrated into utility investments planning, rather than treated as external or project-based add-ons.
Speakers also highlighted structural financial barriers. Drawing on a sector-wide market analysis, Emilie Filou, Global Water Intelligence Director noted that climate pressures are increasingly shaping tariff discussions and regulatory decisions. Where tariff reforms are delayed or politically constrained, utilities face major limits in financing adaptation measures, from diversifying water sources and managing seasonal variability to investing in resilience-oriented infrastructure.
Arnout van Balen, Partnership Officer at World Waternet pointed to a planning gap between utility needs and funding practice: utilities often require over a decade, while many financing windows operate on two to four-year cycles. This mismatch frequently prevents successful pilots from scaling into sustained programmes.
Country experts from Burkina Faso, Ghana and Kenya showed measurable progress in climate risks assessment, preparedness planning, asset management, catchment protection and service continuity under tense conditions. Across cases, speakers emphasised that hands-on, peer cooperation accelerates implementation by pairing technical innovation with operational credibility and local ownership.
Timothy Wanjohi, Low Income Consumers Officer at was Nakuru Water and Sanitation Company (NAWASSCO) in Kenya, presented a Water Operators’ Partnership spanning over than 10 years which supported a phased pathway from reducing non-revenue water to re-investment, including district metering and network zoning across successive stages. Elaine Norkor Dowuona, Assistant Technician at Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL) shared experience combining innovation, including drone-enabled meter reading in flood prone areas, with systematic evidence gathering to help unlock climate finance and build investment pipelines for low-income communities. Chief Manager at GWCL, Faustina Boachie was also honoured for leadership and innovation at the inaugural Women in WASH Africa Awards, where GWOPA served on the jury.
Across the congress, participants called for a shift from isolated pilot projects to programmatic resilience building through long-term partnerships. GWOPA positioned these priorities within broader international efforts, notably the implementation of its ‘100 WOPs for 100 million people’ commitment at the UN 2023 Water Conference to support additional 100 water and sanitation utilities to benefit 100 million people by 2030 as well as preparations for this year’s UN 2026 Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates.