A dedicated ministry to water access and sanitation

Access to water and sanitation remains a full priority for Sub-Saharan Africa as 330 million people lack access to clean water and 565 million to sanitation facilities. During his stay in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, at the Water Storage and Hydropower Development for Africa conference, Ben Braga, President of the World Water Council with Adama Nombre, Governor of the World Water Council and President of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), met HE Mamounata Belem Ouedraogo, Minister of Water Resources of Burkina Faso. The Minister presented the new water policy led by the government of Burkina-Faso for attaining the Millennium Development Goals by the recent creation of a ministry fully dedicated to access to water and sanitation. President Braga called: “to promote this unique approach to reduce inequalities for improved access to water”. The minister emphasized the need to improve water infrastructures in her country mainly by increasing water storages and dams to ensure constant water supply. She proposed to strengthen the National Water Committee of Burkina Faso by promoting a partnership based on World Water Council’s expertise.