IHE Delft strengthens ties with AfWASA by supporting GSGS alumni membership
IHE Delft and the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA) will further strengthen their collaboration under a cooperation agreement signed during the AfWASA Congress and Exhibition in Kampala, Uganda.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed 19 February by IHE Delft Rector Eddy Moors and AfWASA Executive Director Francois Olivier Gosso, foresees IHE Delft supporting AfWASA membership for graduates of the Global Sanitation Graduate School (GSGS), a rigorous sanitation curriculum platform used at 50+ universities and institutions around the world. GSGS, founded jointly by IHE Delft and the Gates Foundation, has enrolled more than 1,400 MSc students since its launch in 2017.
Professional networks
IHE Delft will support up to 600 two-year AfWASA memberships over three years (2025-2027), with up to 200 new memberships per year for GSGS alumni from Africa. This will give the alumni access to benefits including AfWASA’s knowledge management and sharing platforms, to its professional networks and its specialist group activities.
“Through this cooperation, by learning from each other, GSGS alumni will bring their academic training and research into practice,” Moors said. “GSGS alumni, just like AfWASA, are key promoters of expanding sustainable access to safe water and sanitation across Africa. Life-long learning is crucial for progress.”
“This Memorandum of Understanding is important for AfWASA. It is time to introduce the academic sector more strongly to improve research, to support the improvement of our member organizations.”
IHE at AfWASA
The AfWASA Congress and Exhibition, subtitled Water and sanitation for all: A secure future for Africa, showcases new practices and innovations to accelerate universal access to safe water and sanitation. IHE Delft experts speak in several sessions, and IHE Delft is hosting an exhibition in partnership with The Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) and VEI Dutch Water Operators. The Institute also hosted an Alumni Networking Gathering.
Moors gave a keynote speech during a plenary session titled Capacity Building and Partnerships – the way to go for sustained service delivery, emphasising the need for new thinking and research to speed up progress toward universal access to clean water and safe sanitation. The plenary session was moderated by IHE Delft alumna Rose Kaggwa, Senior Director Business and Scientific Services at Uganda’s National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NSWC) and International Water Association Senior Vice President. Panellists at the session included IHE Delft alumna Zainab Mpakiraba, NWSC Manager External Services.
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