International Meeting on Water and Cooperation in Africa

Casa Africa and the United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life' 2005-2015 (UNO-IDfA) are co-organizing the International Meeting on Water and Cooperation in Africa. The meeting will take place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, from 20 to 22 April 2009.

The main objective of the meeting is to reinforce cooperation tools and mechanisms that will strengthen the capacities of African countries to achieve the Millennium Development target to ‘halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation'.

The meeting will provide a platform to allow relevant stakeholders to participate in a dialogue aimed at exchanging views on the role of international cooperation in the water governance field in Africa; identifying and evaluating existing coordination, information exchange and monitoring mechanisms; identifying gaps and key obstacles impeding the achievement of water and sanitation targets in the African region; examining actions implemented by cooperating actors on non-covered needs in the areas of water governance, water supply and sanitation in Africa; and better orienting cooperation efforts in order to maximize their effectiveness in the water and sanitation fields.

Participants include senior government officials responsible for strategic planning in the water and sanitation sectors and the provision of water and sanitation services from African countries, representatives from intergovernmental cooperation institutions from Africa and governmental cooperation institutions, distinguished experts from international, African and Spanish NGOs who represent civil society and are involved in international cooperation efforts in the water and sanitation sectors and representatives from different United Nations organizations and programmes.

About the organizers

The United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015 (UNO-IDfA)

In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the years 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life'. The primary goal of the Decade is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. These commitments include the Millennium Development target of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

To facilitate implementation of the Decade's agenda, the City of Zaragoza in Spain is host to the United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life' 2005-2015. The Office aims to:

• Contribute to the efforts of the United Nations in coordinating and ensuring follow-up to the implementation of internationally agreed goals in the areas of drinking water, sanitation and Integrated Water Resources Management.
• Raise awareness and create an enabling environment for achieving the ultimate goal of water and sanitation for all.
• Strengthen the capacities of Member States and other relevant stakeholders in addressing key obstacles impeding the implementation of the water and sanitation agenda.

Casa Africa

Casa Africa is a public consortium created within the framework of Spain's Africa Plan. It was established as a result of a joint effort on the part of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC) and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) among others.

Casa Africa was created as a space to facilitate open exchange and meetings among citizens of Africa and Spain. Its objectives are to promote awareness of the respective realities of Spain and Africa, and enhance overall Spanish-African cooperation as well as African-European dialogue between both cultures.