OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2015. African Water Facility (AWF) will mark 10 years of its existence. A series of high-level events are being planned to celebrate this milestone in Abuja from November 25 to 27. The event will be hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. The meetings will be attended by African Ministers of Water Resources, development partners, senior members of the diplomatic corps, academia and the private sector.

The events will include a strategic workshop to revise the AWF Long Term Strategy to 2025. The current strategy ends in 2016. The workshop will also conduct a mid-term review of the facility, its performance and challenges. Also to be held is the 15th Governing Council Meeting, a press conference, and celebrations to mark a decade of the commitment to fund sustainable water projects in Africa.

The AWF is a multilateral fund that provides grants and technical assistance to enable governments, NGOs and private-public partnerships to secure investments and implement sustainable water projects throughout Africa. Since 2006, the facility has funded 98 national and regional projects in across 52 countries, including Africa’s most vulnerable states.

The AWF has mobilized more than €1.4 billion as a result of its project preparation activities. These activities constitute 70 percent of its entire portfolio. On average, each €1 contributed by the AWF has attracted €35 in additional follow-up investments.