His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has addressed the High-Level Event on Global Peace and Security during the 2024 Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, FOCAC Summit in Beijing, underscoring the urgent need to address global injustice and ensure fair representation for all nations.

The President highlighted that Africa, having experienced the devastating impact of conflict, must be fairly represented in global decision-making platforms like the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

President Bio also noted that the current global system perpetuates inequities that undermine peace and security.

“The philosophy of perpetuating injustice and unfair treatment to others with the desire to develop self has inadvertently distorted and continues to undermine global peace and security,” he stated.

He further emphasized that to build a future of lasting peace and universal security, global stakeholders must confront and rectify these imbalances.

As Chairman of the African Union’s Committee of Ten on UNSC Reform, President Bio reiterated Africa’s call for two permanent seats on the Security Council, stressing that the continent’s underrepresentation weakens the Council’s ability to address global challenges.

“Fair representation of Africa will better equip the United Nations to tackle global challenges and foster a more just, fair, and peaceful world,” he said.

President Bio concluded by calling on world leaders to prioritise justice and fairness in their global agendas, noting that peace and development can only be achieved through unity.

“We must ensure unity in diversity, where the rights of the weak and the minority are protected. Divisions and unhealthy competition will only lead to humanity’s destruction,” he urged.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Sierra Leone.

The African Water Facility has secured 12 million euros from the Nordic Development Fund for a new funding initiative to support African governments, utilities, the private sector, and other stakeholders to expand access to safe and sustainable sanitation in African cities.

The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII) was launched on 27 August 2024, on the sidelines of World Water Week 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nordic Development Fund (www.NDF.int) announced the funding during a panel session on investing in Africa’s water sector, which it hosted in tandem with the African Union’s African Water Investment Program (https://AIPWater.org).

Over the next ten years, the African Water Facility, through the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative, aims to mobilise $320 million to support 50 sanitation projects, connecting at least 15 million people in urban areas to safely managed sanitation services and generating $7 billion in downstream investments. Ten percent of the $320 million is expected to come from climate-focused funding sources. The Facility is hosted by the African Development Bank.

“We are delighted to have successfully launched AUSII and to have secured this grant from the Nordic Development Fund as we operationalise our new financing window for urban sanitation. We hope to see more support from other partners for this important initiative which will ensure inclusive and sustainable access to safe sanitation and cross-cutting impact on development on the continent,” said Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, Coordinator, African Water Facility and Acting African Development Bank Director for Water Development and Sanitation.

Satu Santala, the Nordic Development Fund’s Managing Director, said, “Africa has the lowest sanitation access levels in the world. With the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative, we aim to support the provision of innovative and socially inclusive solutions to solve this challenge, especially as the impacts of climate change worsen. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and continue this collaboration with partners like the African Water Facility.”

The new financing window comes at a time of increasing demand for water and sanitation on the continent, and for the African Water Facility’s resources and expertise to prepare projects and mobilise investment to meet these demands. Africa’s cities are growing exponentially due to rapid urbanisation, and traditional sewer systems, which are expensive and complex to build and maintain, are no longer viable, especially in densely populated urban areas.

“I believe the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative can help turn this around,” said Dr Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, in remarks delivered virtually. “The initiative will serve as an accelerator and innovator to help African governments and private sector develop solutions to Africa’s sanitation challenges.”

Beyond delivering infrastructure, AUSII aims to promote the transition to more targeted solutions such as onsite and decentralised sanitation systems, tailored to the specific needs of African cities. “The beauty of the Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative is that it will take a flexible approach to each and every identified project for implementation. This is particularly important as beneficiary countries are at various stages of development,” said Carl-Hermann Schlettwein, Namibia’s Minister for Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, and Chair of the African Water Facility’s Governing Council.

“The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative is a landmark for the African Water Facility, and for water resources management in Africa in general, to accelerate progress… the member states of the African Ministers Council on Water fully support the initiative,” said Dr Rashid Mbaziira, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers Council on Water (https://AMCOW-Online.org).

The African Water Facility will organise regional information sessions on the Initiative starting in Cairo, Egypt during the 9th Africa Water Week in October 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Contact:
Mary Ajayi
Water Development and Sanitation Department
Communication and External Relations Department
media@afdb.org

About the African Water Facility:
The African Water Facility, a special fund established as an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank. It is the only African project preparation and promotion Facility solely focused on addressing water and sanitation issues in Africa. It helps African countries achieve the objectives and targets set by the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and African Water Vision 2025 through funding the preparation of innovative, climate responsive water and sanitation projects across the continent. To date, the Facility has financed 138 water and sanitation projects in 52 African countries.

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

Severe flooding in South Sudan has forced many to flee their homes, often losing their livelihoods and properties in the process. These devastating effects have caused an urgent need for both humanitarian aid and proactive measures to minimize the impact of more expected downpours.

To keep himself up to date with activities undertaken to increase the readiness of communities in Greater Pibor and Akobo, Mohan Subramanian, Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), recently went to these locations to engage with peacekeepers, local authorities, and other key stakeholders.

“In Pibor, our South Korean engineering troops are constructing dykes, in total more than 3 kilometres long, to protect essential infrastructure like the airstrip, the Kondoko Primary School, the main hospital, government offices, and warehouses where humanitarian aid is stored,” the Force Commander stated, adding that the engineering work, which complements government initiatives, is likely to be completed by the end of the month.

Racing against time and ominous weather forecasts, other members of the UN family in South Sudan, like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), are also taking speedy and proactive action to protect local communities.

“We are vaccinating more than 1,500 heads of livestock while we can, before floods are expected to hit the area. We are also distributing fishing nets,” said Abakr Rajab, the FAO focal person in Pibor.

Climate forecasts indicate that over three million South Sudanese may be impacted by floods between September and December, the typical peak of the country’s rainy season.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

HE Speaker of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi met with HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Somalia, Dr. Abdullah bin Salem Al Nuaimi.

The meeting discussed cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and enhance them.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The State of Qatar.