Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 14 February 2026 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic participated in the African Union Heads of State and Government Forum on Water and Sanitation, held on the margins of the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit. The forum brought together a number of Heads of State and Government, ministers, development partners, and private sector representatives, with the aim of accelerating universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The Sahrawi delegation to the forum was led by the Prime Minister, Mr. Bouchraya Hamoudi Bayoun, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Yeslem Beissat, the Minister for the Promotion of Women and Social Affairs, Suelma Beiruk, the Permanent Representative of the Sahrawi Republic to the African Union, Lamine Baali, as well as the Embassy’s Cultural and Media Attaché, Ergueibi Abdallah.
The forum is jointly organized by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and the World Bank Group. It represents a key milestone in advancing the regional Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) agenda by translating political commitments into concrete national pledges, coordinated investments, and system-level reforms.
The event takes place amid mounting challenges facing Sub-Saharan African countries in ensuring access to water and sanitation services. Nearly one-third of the population still lacks access to improved water sources, while about two-thirds are without basic sanitation services—conditions that negatively impact public health, economic productivity, and climate resilience.
The forum is expected to witness the announcement of new national commitments in the water and sanitation sector, as well as the official launch of a World Bank Group–financed regional program aimed at accelerating access to water and sanitation services in Eastern and Southern Africa. The program seeks to provide sustainable services to more than 30 million people by 2032 through a comprehensive approach based on policy reform, institutional capacity-building, and the mobilization of public and private investment.
This forum reflects the growing prominence of water and sanitation issues among the priorities of the African Union, particularly following the declaration of 2026 as the Year of Ensuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems, in line with the objectives of the continental Agenda 2063.
The Sahrawi Republic is participating in the African Union Summit—accompanied by dozens of high-level activities, meetings, and side events—with a high-level delegation led by the Prime Minister, alongside the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Women’s Promotion, Health, and Finance, in addition to the Permanent Representative to the African Union, the Deputy Permanent Representative, the Cultural Attaché, and senior officials from the Ministries of Health and Finance. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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