African Union Summit Focuses on Sanitation

The African Union recently held a Heads of State and Government Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt with the theme of “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation.” As a contribution to the Summit, WSP-Africa published the eThekwini Declaration and Action Plan to bring the messages, outcomes, and commitments made at the second AfricaSan Conference held in February 2008 to the Summit. In the Declaration, ministers have pledged, among other undertakings, to create separate budget lines for sanitation and hygiene in their countries and to commit at least 0.5% of GDP. The AU Summit welcomed the Declaration and the accompanying actions. The Summit also committed to raising the profile of sanitation in Africa by addressing the gaps in the context of the Declaration.