The AWF takes stock of its support towards the WASSMO Project
In order to enhance implementation of the project “Pan-African Water Sector Project Monitoring and Reporting System (WASSMO), Phase II - STRENGTHENING CAPACITY AND LEARNING”, the African Water Facility (AWF) in collaboration with the AFDB Nigeria office undertook a virtual supervision mission with the AMCOW Secretariat from 28th- 30th June, 2021. The main objective of the mission was to account for the level of progress made towards the achievements of the project’s objectives during its first year of its implementation.
Implementation of the the WASSMO project is going on well across all its 3 main components! This was the main conclusion from the AWF/ AFDB supervision mission team. Among the key milestones, the mission acknowledged the commencement of the system's software upgrade aimed at improving its accessibility. "Other technical aspects to be resolved will include adjusting monitoring parameters for certain indicators based on feedback collected from system users and developing a mobile version for updating and reporting web application." said Franz Hollhuber, Task Manager for the Project.
Similarly, the AWF commended the AMCOW for building the capacity of 453 experts from 53 African countries on WASSMO indicators and data entry requirements. It also welcomed the updating, presentation and adoption of the project (software WASSMO) user manual by member states. To date, AMCOW has already launched the data collection cycle for countries to input 2020 data in WASSMO. The exercise commenced in June will end in August 2021. The data will be used to develop the water sector development Report for the year 2020.
The AWF is content with the institutionalization of the National Coordination Platforms (NCPs) which will make it possible to strengthen the quality of data communication at national level. The NCPs structure has so far also been adopted by member countries.
The WASSMO project management structure was successfully established with a total staff complement of 5 members serving in different capacities. AMCOW has also established a Technical Advisory Sub-Committee which provides special advice to the Technical Advisory Committee on WASSMO work.
Background Project
The project was formulated in response to the call of the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit of July 2008. That mandated the African Minister’s Council on Water (AMCOW) to annually report on progress made in the implementation of the African Union commitments expressed in the 2008 Sharm El-Sheikh Commitments on water and sanitation. It also corresponds to the Ngor Declaration on Water Security and Sanitation of 2015 that calls for further strengthening and institutionalization of a harmonized monitoring and reporting system to report on actions taken to implement the commitments.
The objective of the WASSMO project is to enhance member states capacity in monitoring, decision making and reporting under the WASSMO framework. The project revolves around three main components including strengthening of the African Water & Sanitation Monitoring & Reporting System, Capacity enhancement of Stakeholders as well as project management and reporting.
The project is a continuation of the first phase, implemented between 2013 and 2018 with the financial support from the AWF. During that period, the AMCOW successfully developed the Pan African Water, Sanitation Monitoring, and Reporting System. To date, the system is functional and is the first-ever continental automated web-based System that exclusively captures data on water and sanitation from 55 countries in Africa.
The online platform provides for reporting on seven themes including water infrastructure for growth, managing and protecting water resources, water supply, sanitation, hygiene and wastewater, climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR), governance and institutions; financing; and information management and capacity development.
The WASSMO will be more a credible and reliable source of data for the water sector.
African Water Facility has maintained strong ties with the AMCOW Secretariat on a number of initiatives. This is aligned to the Facility’s mission of mobilizing resources of water and leveraging investments in Africa, as well as enhancing water knowledge through information management, monitoring and evaluation.