AMCOW - Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines <

About the Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines:

The Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines (ASPG) are an initiative led by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). The overall purpose of the ASPG is to provide African governments guidance for enhancing or developing a clear and comprehensive sanitation policy that will pave the way for the development and implementation of large-scale national sanitation programmes. Considering that over 695 million people in sub Saharan Africa live without access to basic sanitation, at the end of the MDG in 2015, (WHO/UNICEF 2017); the ASPG aim to trigger the necessary reforms needed to create the enabling environment to accelerate progress towards access to safely managed sanitation for all by 2030.

Countries have endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include SDG 6.2, specific to sanitation and hygiene. Target 6.2 aims to “achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations, by 2030.” Additionally, African countries also signed the N’gor Declaration on Sanitation and Hygiene which aims for universal access to adequate and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services as well as eliminate open defecation by 2030. While increasing attention is being given to sanitation and to strengthening the enabling environment, many African countries still lack clear, up-to-date, and enforceable sanitation policies and comprehensive laws. Gaps in laws and policies negatively impacts sanitation service delivery across African countries. An assessment of sanitation policies and strategies in 26 countries conducted by AMCOW in 2019 indicatedinadequate or lack of sanitation policies which fosters inequalities in sanitation service delivery and complicates financial resource allocation.

The Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines will provide the necessary guidelines for African States to develop functional sanitation policies and create the enabling environment to support the implementation of inclusive sanitation and hygiene policies to achieve regional and international targets.

Objectives:

The Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines (ASPG) Initiative aims to provide support and guidance to strengthen the enabling environment for sanitation in Africa.

More importantly, the Guidelines will:

Provide a framework to guidethe development of functional and responsive sanitation policies.
Establish the process for the development of a sanitation policy and implementation strategy.
Provide a support system and response mechanismsfor countries that require assistance for sanitation policy and strategy development.

Development proces:

Five (05) WASH and Policy Specialists have been leading the ASPG drafting process. The ASPG will be an effective document that aligns with realities and contexts across countries. Additionally, technical inputs have been provided by selected global experts, an Executive Committee and a Task Force.

The final Africa Sanitation Policy Guidelines are expected to be completed in December 2020 and will be launched in November 2021 during the 8th Africa Water Week. The ASPG will also be presented at the next World Water Forum, in 2021, in Dakar, Senegal.

Key Partners

The ASPG Initiative is led by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Water Security and Cooperation (CWSC) and Speak Up Africa which constitutes the ASPG Executive Committee with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Additionally, there is a Task Force made up of sanitation experts from Africa and from around the world.