New Delhi, Sep 24 India and African countries on Thursday discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in water, sanitation and hygiene, with a focus on knowledge exchange, capacity-building, digital innovation, community-led service delivery and climate-resilient solutions at a roundtable here.
The Indo-Africa Roundtable on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) was convened by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, as part of the Second India International WASH Conference being organised during the ninth India International Water Week (IIWW) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam.
The roundtable brought together ambassadors and representatives of 22 African countries, senior officials of the government, development partners and international organisations to deliberate on shared water and sanitation challenges and explore opportunities for future cooperation.
DDWS Secretary Ashok K K Meena said India’s experience in rural water supply and sanitation extends beyond physical infrastructure and is fundamentally about public health, dignity, women’s empowerment and community ownership.
He said strong political commitment and local institutional ownership have been central to India’s progress under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G).
Meena said India is willing to share its operational knowledge, digital approaches and experience in community governance while learning from innovations and experiences emerging across Africa.
He said the objective of the deliberations is to learn from one another and strengthen approaches that can deliver safe water, dignified sanitation and resilient services for communities, adding that such cooperation can contribute meaningfully to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission, Kamal Kishore Soan, highlighted the scale of investments under the JJM and said its launch on August 15, 2019 marked a decisive shift towards ensuring functional tap-water connections for every rural household.
He said tap-water coverage has increased from 32.4 million rural households in 2019 to over 159.4 million households currently.
World Bank Global Director-Water Saroj Kumar Jha described India’s water and sanitation transformation as one of the most significant examples of large-scale development change witnessed across developing countries.
He called for greater global investments in water and sanitation, stronger political commitment and enhanced partnerships, while emphasising that Africa should also be viewed as a source of innovation, enterprise and locally developed solutions.
Representatives from the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Sanitation and Water for All shared international experiences, innovations and best practices in WASH service delivery.
The discussions highlighted the increasing role of digital technologies, geospatial tools, community institutions, water-quality surveillance, climate resilience and evidence-based policymaking in strengthening water and sanitation systems.
During the interactive session, ambassadors and representatives of African countries shared experiences and perspectives on water security, sanitation, irrigation, climate resilience and sustainable infrastructure development in their countries.
They highlighted common priorities including water harvesting, groundwater management, wastewater treatment and reuse, source sustainability, affordable water-treatment technologies, waste management, digital water governance and climate-resilient infrastructure.
The discussions underscored the need for practical, affordable and locally adaptable solutions, particularly for rural, drought-prone and underserved communities.
African representatives also highlighted the importance of sustainable financing, effective operation and maintenance systems, institutional capacity building, private sector participation and development of local technical skills.
Several participants expressed interest in government-to-government cooperation, technical exchanges, pilot projects, research partnerships, academic collaboration and exposure visits to facilitate knowledge sharing and technology transfer.
In her concluding remarks, DDWS Joint Secretary Swati Meena Naik said the deliberations opened new avenues for India-Africa cooperation in water security and sanitation.
She highlighted knowledge exchange, capacity-building, water-quality management, digital public infrastructure for WASH, community-led governance, climate-resilient water systems and sustainable sanitation as priority areas for future engagement.
(PTI News)
