Think globally, act locally in addressing issues of waste water – Minister

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, on Thursday called on African Ministers attending the 2017 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden to think globally and act locally in finding solutions to issues of waste water.

Adamu, was quoted as saying this in a statement at the Africa Focus session for the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and signed by the Director, Press with the ministry, Mrs Margaret Umoh.

He said that Africa should think out of the box and invest more on science to develop home-grown technologies.

“We can achieve an African approach to solving issues of waste water if we think globally and act locally”, he said.

He said that AMCOW’s mandate in the water sector is to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable socio-economic development and maintenance of African ecosystem.

He called on other member countries of AMCOW to strengthen their roles for stakeholder’s engagement and participation in order to address the issues of waste water.

The statement also quotes the Minister of Water Resources of Egypt, Mohammed Abdel Atty as saying that AMCOW should facilitate and advocate adequate and sustainable financing of programs that will lead to achieving the African vision 2025.

He added that the agenda 2063 of; “The Africa we want”, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other high level commitments should also be of utmost importance.

The statement added that the inclusion and sustenance of smallholder irrigation in Africa is key to meeting the global challenges of food security.

It noted that smallholder irrigation has performed low in Africa with a record of low yields, deprivation and poverty as a result of lack of maintenance of large scale portions of irrigation lands.

The Africa Focus session had presentations by AMCOW and other critical partners on innovative ways of improving water quality through waste water management in Africa.

At a session on irrigation farming in Africa, African leaders were told to encourage their smallholder irrigation to double their yields with half the water presently used.

Participants considered new ways of working with irrigation communities in Africa to increase agricultural production by using water more efficiently.

The World Water Week, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), is the annual gathering for all stakeholders in the globe’s water issues.