Sanitation Minister Joins African Ministers Confab On Water To Deliberate On Covid-19 Pandemic

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah has participated in the Extra-ordinary Virtual meeting of the Bureau of the Executive Committee of the African Minister’s Ministers Conference on Water (AMCOW) on April 22, 2020 via online.

The webinar was organized by the African Ministers’ Conference on Water (AMCOW) Secretariat at the instance of the AMCOW Resident H.E Pascal Houangui Ambouroue, Minister for Water and Energy of the Republic of Gabon.

The African Ministers’ Conference on Water (AMCOW) is the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment under the auspices of the African Union Commission.

The objective of AMCOW is to promote Cooperation, Security, Social and Economic development and poverty reduction among member states through the effective management of the Continents Water Resources and the provision of Water Supply Services.

The meeting was convened for member states to discuss the Coordination programmes of member states in the water sector in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting was also to discuss the readiness of member states in the WASH Sector to tap into the World Bank Emergency Fund and the proposal to hold the 12^th Extra Ordinary meeting of the Bureau of the Executive Committee (EXCO) scheduled for June 2, 2020.

The sector Minister Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah outlined the various measures the government of Ghana has put in place to combat the spread of the COVID 19 Pandemic. The measures include the free distribution of Water to vulnerable Communities throughout the Country, the decision by the government to absorb the water bills for Ghanaians for the months of April, May and June respectfully and the distribution of Veronica buckets to Institutions, Organizations and Public places to promote effective hand washing.

Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah Stated that the practice of World Health Organisation protocol on containing the spread of the pandemic could be effective if there is the availability of Water and Sanitation Services, especially to the vulnerable and people living in slums.

She called on the need for all stakeholders to leverage resources for the implementation of the broader Emergency plan.

Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah commended the various Countries that have committed resources to support the implementation of the broader Emergency response strategy to combat the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Sector Minister also briefed the member states about the efforts being made by AMCOW to secure additional funding from the World Bank for the implementation of COVID 19 response strategies.

At the end of the deliberations, member states affirmed the decision that AMCOW Secretariat and the respective Technical Advisory Committee members synthesize their respective Country programmes into a composite work plan to be forwarded to Development partners for support. A communiqué at the end of the meeting endorsed the proposal to hold the 12^th Exco meeting on June 2.

The meeting was attended by the Vice Presidents of AMCOW, each representing one Regional Bloc,. The Western African Bloc was represented by Ghana.