Africa has a US$10 to US$12 billion pipeline of water projects that could help address growing water insecurity across the continent. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says the priority now, however, is turning these projects into funded and implementable programmes.

She chaired the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa and Global Cooperation on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

Africa's multi-billion water investment pipeline is facing a critical test of securing the financing needed to move projects from plans into implementation. President Nandi-Ndaitwah says African countries must convert the pipeline emerging from the AU-Africa Water Investment Summit into bankable projects with tangible results.

Namibia is also expanding its own water infrastructure under NDP6, such as the water purification, aquifer recharge, raw-water distribution infrastructure and seawater desalination. 

"Earlier this year, the African Union Commission warned that the continent needs about $50 billion annually to achieve water security and sustainable sanitation by 2030. The Commission's Chairperson says mounting pressure from climate-related water shocks is already being felt," said Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf is Chairperson of the AU Commission.

"Upcoming UN 2026 water conference is expected to strengthen international cooperation and mobilise investment, as called for under Sustainable Development goal six. Senegal, as the co-host of the 2026 UN Water Conference, says identified projects must be supported by de-risking and blended-finance mechanisms."

Namibia, meanwhile, is also promoting the Global Investment Platform's upstream de-risking facilities, hosted in Windhoek, headquartered with the Global Water Partnership Organisation.