Walid Battal
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a research center dedicated to the global management of water resources. The center is soon to launch the second phase of the Digital Innovations for a Water-Secure Africa (DIWASA) project.
In sub-Saharan Africa, there is an unprecedented water insecurity primarily due to poor management practices and the lack of proper water resource management, despite the continent having significant but underutilized water resources.
Thus, this project, developed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, focuses on water accounting and water resilience to manage the risks of flooding and drought. DIWASA will intensify its efforts and extend data availability to four priority African countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia. It will also enhance collaboration with end-users through co-design product sessions, training, and the creation of user communities.
With a new grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the project will build on the successes of its first phase. Mark Smith, IWMI’s Director General, emphasized the importance of this new phase of funding to improve water security in Africa through digital innovation. In close collaboration with Digital Earth Africa, the project aims to enhance institutional capacities and water data availability for sustainable water resource management on the continent.