The Africa Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative [C158]

Objective

The African Urban Sanitation Investment Initiative (AUSII) is a project aiming to catalyse the urgently needed transformative change of the urban sanitation sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the most overlooked development challenges in Africa exacerbated by climate change and a rapidly growing urban population. This focused NDF engagement will stand on the shoulders of a long lasting and close partnership with the African Water Facility (AWF), hosted by the implementing partner, the African Development Bank (AfDB).

AUSII operates in Africa, and predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa where bad quality water is a daily challenge for hundreds of millions of people. Sanitation is a fundamental building block for sustaining people’s livelihoods, stability and sustainable development and growth. Despite this, the present huge underinvestment in the development of the sanitation sector poses severe negative and Africa a region where the link and inter-dependency between sanitation, climate change and sustainable development is most clear.

AUSII represents the need to bring more attention and pave the way for more investments and development of sanitation solutions in Africa. Not least in the urban areas the need for sanitation services to manage the effluents from improved access to water, higher living standards and economic growth is urgent.

AUSII aims to work with governments, cities and the private sector to build the enabling structures and market conditions that will allow local governments, stakeholders and entrepreneurs to develop local sanitation plans/ models and projects. This will be followed up by arranging and provision of finance for sanitation projects and entrepreneurs.

Outcomes

The goal of AUSII is to deliver impactful outcomes and results, trigger financial flows to urban sanitation and to extend climate resilient sanitation and hygiene services to unserved populations in African cities. The objective includes the need to mobilise the private sector’s involvement to solve the sanitation challenge.

Together with the implementing partner and other co-financing partners, the NDF engagement is critical for AUSII to accelerate and roll out its ambitions and showcase results.

AUSII operations contribute to building climate change resilience in urban communities and contribute to mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from sanitation solutions. The NDF support will also enable AUSII to address the financing challenge by improving access to private capital, as well as improving the mobilization of public finance. The outcomes will reflect also on the Nordic priorities that are vital for NDF, such as gender equality.

Financing

The total project cost is EUR 25.6 million, with a 10-year ambition of EUR 300 million. NDF’s commitment is EUR 12 million.

NDF Contact

Ole Stubdrup (ole.stubdrup@ndf.int)