African leaders convened at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa on 14–15 February to place water security and sanitation at the centre of the continent’s development agenda. The 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government launched the AU’s 2026 theme, formally framing access to water as a strategic priority for development, climate resilience, and economic growth. The summit brought together leaders from all 55 member states, senior continental officials, regional economic communities, and multilateral partners against a backdrop of mounting water stress, climate volatility, and fiscal constraints.
The 2026 theme, “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” was presented as a cross-cutting imperative linked to food security, industrialisation, public health, and conflict prevention. Baseline data highlighted the scale of the challenge: around 400 million Africans lack access to water for daily use, while over 800 million are without basic hygiene services. Water-related diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid continue to impact mortality and productivity, and unreliable systems contribute to higher health expenditures, lost working hours, and reduced competitiveness in urban and industrial areas.
AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasized that sustainable water management underpins agricultural transformation, energy generation, infrastructure development, and climate resilience. He framed water as a collective good critical for both development and stability, especially amid geopolitical challenges, reduced external financing, and institutional fragility. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, reinforced the economic significance, noting that reliable water and sanitation infrastructure is essential for industrial parks, logistics corridors, and agro-processing hubs, while the predominantly rain-fed agriculture sector remains highly vulnerable to droughts and erratic rainfall.
Financing emerged as a major constraint, with estimates indicating that achieving universal water and sanitation access by 2030 would require over $30 billion annually, far exceeding current public spending. To address this gap, the AU Commission outlined a roadmap emphasizing governance reforms, policy coordination, partnerships, and innovative financing mechanisms to mobilize both public and private capital. Discussions on the margins of the summit focused on African development finance architecture, with IGAD and other regional economic community leaders consulting the African Development Bank on a New African Financial Architecture to strengthen integration, coordination, and sustainable resource mobilization.
Climate governance was also a key topic. Delegates assessed outcomes from COP30, reviewed progress under the African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change, and examined operationalization of the African Action Plan on Carbon Markets and an African Gold Standard for carbon initiatives. Emphasis was placed on environmental integrity, transparency, and ensuring carbon markets deliver measurable developmental benefits. Leaders also addressed peace and security challenges in Sudan, eastern DRC, the Sahel, and the Horn of Africa, discussed the African Standby Force, AU institutional reforms, and reflected on the Union’s role following its admission as a permanent G20 member.
The summit concluded with the election of Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye as AU Chairperson for 2026, succeeding Angola’s President João Lourenço. The leadership transition positions Burundi to advance the water and sanitation agenda while overseeing broader priorities including climate diplomacy, financial reform, and conflict management. By prioritizing water security and sanitation, the 39th Summit framed these issues as central determinants of fiscal resilience, industrial competitiveness, and social stability across Africa.
