AfricaSan Conference

For four days from July 29th to August 1st, 2002, 150 sanitation sector experts, high-level decision makers and Ministers gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa for the first-ever African Sanitation and Hygiene conference. Jointly organized and co-hosted by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), the Water and Sanitation Program - Africa Region (WSP-AF), the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), and facilitated by the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), the conference had the expressed goal of accelerating the progress of sanitation and hygiene work in Africa in fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals and the aims of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

Under the broad goal described above, the specific purposes of the conference are three-fold:

1. to assess the state of sanitation and hygiene in Africa, sharing experiences and lessons learned by people and organisations working in this field
2. to raise the profile of sanitation and hygiene in Africa, both at and after the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg
3. to strengthen leadership and advocacy for improved sanitation and hygiene in Africa.

In laying the groundwork for the Conference, a background paper describing the current state of sanitation and hygiene in Africa, explaining how this conference fits in with the Bonn, Abuja, WSSD and Kyoto meetings and processes, and suggesting topics for discussion was prepared and is available through the DWAF website.

Concluding the Conference, a short, powerful advocacy Conference Statement has been produced. This builds on other relevant statements and is intended to project a high profile through NEPAD for African sanitation and hygiene at WSSD and Kyoto. Complementing the Statement is a document containing action-oriented strategies and plans, derived from the background paper, and describing a) the main outcomes and conclusions from the discussions at this conference, b) the plans for continued exchange of experience and support between African agencies active in sanitation and hygiene promotion, and c) a strong promotion of sanitation and hygiene within existing development and planning frameworks. A PDF version of this Statement and the accompanying press release are now available. For more information, please visit the AfricaSan page of WSSCC.

AfricaSan was made possible by: