Strong presence of GSGS Regional Hubs in Africa at 23rd AfWASA Congress
GSGS regional hubs in Africa (Regional Hub West, Central and Indian Ocean Africa – RH WCIOA and Regional Hub East and Southern Africa – RH ESA) had a prominent role at 23rd International Congress and Exhibition of the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA) held in Yaoundé Conference Center in Cameroon from 9-13 February 2026. The AfWASA event gathered decision-makers, utilities, development partners and academic institutions from across the African continent.
The GSGS hubs, in partnership with AfWASA’s SAO-CWIS programme, co-hosted a strategic panel entitled “Train, Connect and Transform: Synergies among Stakeholders to Accelerate Inclusive Sanitation in Africa.” The session focused on how structured capacity development, inter-regional cooperation and stronger links between academia and operational actors can accelerate inclusive sanitation across Africa.
Moderated by Prof. Kouassi Dongo, GSGS RH WCIOA Coordinator at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Côte d’Ivoire), the panel brought together representatives of both academic and non-academic partners within the GSGS network.
Key contributions included:
- Prof. Harinaivo Anderson Andrianisa, Regional Director of GSGS RH WCIOA, presented the Hub’s strategic vision for strengthening sanitation education, applied research and knowledge management in West and Central Africa;
- Dr. Rose Christine Kaggwa, Regional Director of GSGS RH ESA, highlighted the importance of coordinated regional leadership in integrating CWIS principles into training and practice;
- Dr. Fabrice Nguema, GSGS RH WCIOA Academic Coordinator at the University of Ebolowa (Cameroon), shared the perspective of academic partners and their role in curriculum development and institutional engagement;
- Mr. Hypolithe Gogo (SODECI, Côte d’Ivoire) and Mr. Mouhamadou Gueye (ONAS, Senegal), representing non-academic partners of GSGS RH WCIOA, emphasized the expectations, contributions and operational value of utilities and public operators within the Hub’s collaborative framework, and
- Mr. Valentin Kouadio Yao, SAO-CWIS Program Coordinator, presented AfWASA’s SAO-CWIS program, which supports operators and municipalities in 30 cities with sanitation audits, performance improvement plans, benchmarking, and targeted training programs.
The panel was also enriched by the expertise of Ms. Sandrine Kayap, Deputy Director of Parks and Gardens at the Urban Community of Yaoundé (CUY).
The session clearly illustrated the complementarity between the GSGS Hubs and the SAO-CWIS programme – while SAO-CWIS strengthens peer learning and performance improvement among cities and operators, GSGS focuses on building human capital, advancing curricula and fostering applied research.
By bringing together universities, utilities, municipalities and development actors on the same platform, the two Regional Hubs demonstrated the added value of a structured, multi-actor network for professionalizing the sanitation sector and supporting inclusive and resilient systems.
The participation of GSGS RH WCIOA and GSGS RH ESA at the 23rd AfWASA Congress therefore went beyond institutional visibility. It reaffirmed their role as regional coordination platforms contributing to stronger alignment between knowledge, practice and policy in Africa’s sanitation landscape.