Envisaging Africa’s transformation
The African Union Commission (AUC) and the Secretariat of AMCOW (AMCOW-Sec) are mandated to implement policy initiatives to actualise both the African Union Vision of:

• “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena”; and,
  the Africa Water Vision 2025 of:
• “an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the environment.

The 11th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU Assembly), in July 2008, culminated in the seminal Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration [Assembly/AU/ Decl.1 (XI)] on water. The Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU HoSG) undertook the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments for Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals in Africa. The backdrop to the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments is provided by the targets of the Africa Water Vision 2025 (AWV 2025).

Thus, in 2000, the continent envisioned an Africa where there is equitable and sustainable utilisation of our water resources for socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, regional cooperation and the environment by 2025. A key lesson from efforts to actualise this Vision is the urgent need to inject new approaches into strategies to attract commensurate financial resources to the sector.

A paradigm shift is required to highlight the economic contribution of water to all productive sectors, including livelihoods improvement; regional trade and integration; peace and security. Similarly, the potential of the sanitation economy to contribute to ensuring the availability of safe water and basic sanitation and hygiene services for all to reduce the overall disease burden and enhance national and local-level pandemic preparedness capabilities and maintaining functional ecosystems. The principles of valuing water and articulation of the sanitation economy hold promise for raising the profile of water and sanitation in national systems for development planning and public investment. Mobilising the buy-in of our political leadership will translate that promise into reality

Progress reported on actualising the Africa Water Vision 2025
Member States’ reported progress against the targets of the Africa Water Vision 2025 (AWV 2025), and related commitments including the SDGs, indicates that we are off track to actualise the Vision. In particular, the rate of growth in services provision is outstripped by rapid population growth and urbanisation and exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and climate variability. Incommensurate public funding and investments to the sector have been identified as a fundamental factor underlying the fast-fading aspiration of actualising the Africa Water Vision by 2025.

The post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy formulation process
Efforts are, thus, underway to formulate a post-2025 Africa Water Vision that fundamentally responds to these challenges. Ultimately, the vision must motivate action to achieve the AU Agenda 2063 goal of environmentally sustainable and climate resilient economies and communities through assuring water security, among others. Hence the need to align with and provide an implementation framework for Aspiration 1 of Agenda 2063 of “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”.

Against this background, AU Executive Council Decision EX.CL/Dec.2(XLIV) Rev.1/42 adopted “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063” as the 2026 African Union Theme. This sets the stage for presentation of the post-2025 Africa Water Vision for consideration and adoption by the AU in February 2026. In addition:

1. Decision 373 of 5th STC ARBWE “underscored the key role of the Member States and encouraged them to actively engage in the ongoing processes to formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision”;
2. Decision EX.CL/Dec.2(XLIV)Rev.1/39 (iii) of the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council “urges the AUC to develop an African Water Policy that can provide a strategic framework towards inclusive and climate resilient water security on the continent”.

Similarly, AMCOW Decision GA/13/2023/CAI/1 tasks the AMCOW Secretariat to conduct a multi-level dialogue process to:

1. assure broad and active stakeholder input into prioritisation of the technical proposals and articulation of the action framework of the post-2025 Africa Water Vision;
2. assure high-level political ownership of the Vision and, in turn, active commitment to actualise it. Emphasis will be placed on making a business case for the water and sanitation economy as an essential success factor of national fiscal policy; and,
3. ensure that the post-2025 Africa Water Vision is aligned to and is adopted as an implementation framework of Agenda 2063.

It is against this background that the PANAFCON-3 will be convened as a multistakeholder dialogue platform for African Member States and stakeholders towards formulation of the post-2025 AWV and policy.

As the continent heads towards the expiration of the Africa Water Vision 2025, PANAFCON-3 will provide an opportunity for Member States and stakeholder to consider and discuss proposals for what the focus and priorities to inform the development of the post-2025 AWV and policy.

The theme for PANAFCON–3, therefore, aims to ensure that the post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy places water and sanitation at the heart of achieving social transformation and economic growth on the continent. In so doing, placing the post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy as an implementation framework for achieving Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. As such, the proposed theme for the Conference will be
Water Security and Sanitation for the Africa We Want.

Similarly, the subthemes will be aligned to proposed sections of the post-2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy aimed to influence achieving Agenda 2063. These will be informed by the outcomes of the 9th Africa Water Week.

A key milestone of the dialogue process to formulate the post-2025 AWV and policy will be to convene the third African Implementation and Partnership Conference (PANAFCON-3). The conference will pave way for Member States and partners to review the initial draft of the post-2025 vision and policy framework for assuring water security and sanitation for peace and development in Africa. Thus, PANAFCON-3 will allow for broad consultations to review the initial draft of the post 2025 Africa Water Vision and Policy. The PANAFCON-3 will close with a high-level session at which Africa’s political leadership will consider and guide on the conference’s technical outcomes.