From Jerry cans to Justice: Securing Water and Sanitation for Eastern Africa’s Agenda 2063

Women carrying water to their homes in Mubende (Photo: UCSD)

At sunrise in eastern Uganda, Sarah, a mother of three, sets out before breakfast with a cracked plastic jerry slung over her shoulder, walking nearly an hour to the nearest borehole. The water she collects will be used for drinking, cooking, washing, and watering her backyard vegetable garden, which supplements her family’s daily food needs. But Sarah knows this steady supply isn’t a given — shortages are common, and sick children from water-borne diseases still visit the local clinic. Her experience reflects a challenge that stretches across Eastern Africa and the entire continent.

Sarah’s daily routine mirrors a continental reality that African leaders have now placed at the centre of transformation. The 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union has elevated water and sanitation as a strategic continental priority for 2026, as the Year of Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063. This decision signals recognition that water security is foundational to delivering on African Union Agenda 2063 — Africa’s blueprint for inclusive growth, prosperity, and resilience.

The Scale of the Challenge

According to data presented in AU policy discussions ahead of the 2026 theme year, over 400 million people in Africa still lack access to adequate drinking water, while more than 700 million lack safely managed sanitation services (African Union, 2024). These gaps are particularly pronounced in rural and peri-urban communities across Eastern Africa.

Unsafe water and poor sanitation contribute to preventable diseases, lost productivity, and school absenteeism — especially for girls. Without reliable water systems, health centres struggle with infection control, farmers face crop losses during drought, and households spend hours each day securing basic supplies. These realities directly slow progress toward Agenda 2063’s aspiration of a healthy and well-nourished Africa.

Emerging Opportunities

Yet the 2026 AU theme creates momentum. It aligns with the Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy, adopted to guide long-term, climate-resilient and inclusive water governance across member states. The Vision calls for integrated water resources management, strengthened institutions, sustainable financing, and regional cooperation — critical for Eastern Africa’s shared river basins.

There is growing political attention at the highest level. AU-convened Heads of State and Government forums on water and sanitation are pushing countries to translate commitments into measurable investment plans. This high-level political ownership presents a major opportunity: when water is treated as economic infrastructure — not merely a social service — financing tends to follow.

Technological innovation also offers promise. Solar-powered boreholes, digital monitoring of utilities, decentralised wastewater treatment systems, and climate-smart irrigation can improve reliability and reduce costs when paired with strong community management structures. For example, through an Agenda 2063 Flagship intervention - the Africa Climate-Proof Water Systems Through the Great Green Wall and Climate Adaptation Programs, promoting small-scale water harvesting and solar-powered irrigation for smallholders is crucial and should be fast-tracked based on emerging lessons.

Regional cooperation is another opportunity. Eastern Africa’s trans boundary basins require coordinated governance to prevent conflict, manage climate variability, and ensure equitable access. Agenda 2063 explicitly emphasises peace, shared prosperity, and sustainable resource use — all of which depend on effective water diplomacy. As water security underpins trade, agriculture, manufacturing, and agro-processing, which are key sectors of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is also important more than ever to formalise joint water allocation and drought contingency agreements in all transboundary basins.

Persistent Constraints

However, constraints remain formidable. Climate change is intensifying droughts and floods, undermining infrastructure and disrupting fragile systems (African Union, 2024). Population growth is outpacing service expansion in many cities. Financing gaps persist, and maintenance of rural water systems remains weak due to limited technical capacity and fragmented institutional mandates.

Inequality is perhaps the most stubborn constraint. Rural households like Sarah’s continue to bear the heaviest burden, despite continental commitments. Without stronger accountability mechanisms and inclusive local participation — particularly of women and youth — infrastructure gains risk being uneven and unsustainable.

A Continental Turning Point

The AU’s designation of 2026 as the Year of Water and Sanitation is more than symbolic. It is an invitation to act decisively. For Eastern Africa, sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems are not optional — they are prerequisites for economic transformation, climate resilience, gender equity, and public health.

If political will is matched with financing, innovation, and community leadership, Sarah’s three children may grow up in a region where clean water flows reliably — not as a daily struggle, but as a guaranteed right under Agenda 2063.

References

• African Union (2024). Declaration of 2026 as the Year of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
• African Union Summit communications and pre-summit briefings on water and sanitation statistics (2024).
• African Union. Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want (Framework Document).
• African Union. Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy (Adopted continental framework).
• African Union. Heads of State and Government Forum on Water and Sanitation, official communications (2024)