At the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, African leaders are emphasizing water not just as a basic necessity but as a strategic driver of economic growth, public health, and resilience. Under the theme “Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063,” the AU is calling for bold leadership to translate water and sanitation initiatives into concrete development outcomes across the continent. With over 400 million Africans lacking access to safe drinking water, this focus highlights the urgency of mobilizing resources and implementing sustainable solutions.
The African Development Bank Group is supporting the Africa Water Vision 2063 by leveraging the New African Financial Architecture (NAFA), guided by Bank President Sidi Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points. NAFA seeks to mobilize capital at scale, reform financial systems, harness demographic dividends, and build resilient infrastructure. By treating water as a high-value asset and integrating the Water–Food–Energy–Ecosystem nexus framework, investments can simultaneously expand irrigation, secure safe drinking water, and power industry, creating broad economic and social benefits.
Central to this strategy is the promotion of multi-purpose dam projects as transformative infrastructure. These dams provide water for domestic consumption, agriculture, and hydropower, while generating revenue streams to sustain operations. By pooling multiple uses within a single project, multi-purpose dams maximize efficiency, strengthen regional water management, and create opportunities for private sector engagement alongside public investment.
Several ongoing projects exemplify this approach. The Thwake Dam in Kenya, co-financed by the Kenyan government and the African Development Bank Group, will supply drinking water to 1.3 million people, provide 20 MW of hydropower, and irrigate 40,000 hectares of farmland. Similarly, Rwanda’s Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program will deliver daily drinking water, support irrigation and hydropower, strengthen climate resilience, and benefit approximately 800,000 people. These projects illustrate how integrated planning can simultaneously advance food security, energy access, and ecological protection.
In Burundi, the Rusumo Falls hydropower project has stabilized electricity supply in Gitega, enabling critical services such as neonatal care to function reliably. Funded by the African Development Bank Group alongside the World Bank and EU, this project demonstrates the tangible health, social, and economic impacts that reliable water and energy infrastructure can deliver.
To expand these benefits, the Bank Group is introducing innovative financing solutions, including green and sustainable development bonds and blended finance, leveraging its AAA credit rating to attract private capital into Africa’s water sector. With rising populations, growing ecological pressures, and pressing infrastructure needs, multi-purpose dams and strategic investments are positioned as foundational tools for a water-secure, resilient, and prosperous Africa.
