African civil society organisations and trade unions are set to launch a continent-wide campaign advocating publicly funded, affordable water services and greater government accountability from October 12 to 18, 2026.

Organised by the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition (OWORAC), the initiative will take place during the sixth Africa Week of Action Against Water Privatisation, under the theme “Reclaiming Africa’s Water Future: Public Water for All.”

A major feature of the campaign will be the release of a position paper titled “Implementing the Africa Water Vision 2063: An OWORAC Coalition Position on Water Justice, Public Financing and Democratic Water Governance.”

The document examines implementation gaps and opportunities surrounding the Africa Water Vision 2063, proposing measures to improve public financing, strengthen accountability and increase community participation in decisions affecting water services.

OWORAC said the campaign would spotlight persistent challenges facing public water systems across Africa, including insufficient government investment, deteriorating utility services, climate pressures, rapid urbanisation and the growing expansion of water privatisation.

The coalition also intends to ensure that African communities’ concerns receive greater attention in international policy discussions. The campaign coincides with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.

Through the initiative, OWORAC plans to challenge policies it considers drivers of water privatisation while promoting publicly funded services as a means of improving access to safe and affordable water.

Activities will include a hybrid international media briefing on Monday, October 12, at 11:00 a.m. West Africa Time, followed by an international webinar on prepaid water meters on October 14. The programme will also feature media engagements, community dialogues and discussions with policymakers and water authorities.

The webinar will examine the growing use of prepaid water meters and their implications for human rights and universal access to water, drawing on experiences from participating countries.

Speakers scheduled for the media briefing include Anne Maina of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya; Oumar Ba of Senegal’s Autonomous Union of Water Workers; Geoffrey Kabutey Ocansey of Revenue Mobilisation Africa, Ghana; Joseph Rahall of Green Scenery, Sierra Leone; and Akinbode Oluwafemi of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Nigeria, among others.

The campaign seeks to advance public financing and democratic governance of water resources while placing access to affordable water at the centre of discussions on water policy across the continent.

Source: The Guardian