Minister Pemmy Majodina attends UN Water Preparatory Meeting in Dakar, 26 to 27 Jan

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, will attend the High-Level Preparatory Meeting from 26–27 January 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.

The meeting sets the stage for the United Nations Water Conference, scheduled to take place in December, and will shape the priorities, commitments and partnerships needed to accelerate progress on safe water and dignified sanitation.

A key highlight of the meeting is the round table discussion that will be held under the theme: “Investments for Water: Financing, technology and innovation, and capacity-building,” which South Africa will co-host with France. South Africa will lead this discussion on behalf of the African continent and will use the platform to push for stronger investment into water and sanitation programmes that support climate resilience, economic growth and human development.

This opportunity follows the successful Africa Water Investment Summit that was held in Cape Town last year, where African Ministers, financiers, investors and development partners committed to closing the continent’s water and sanitation investment gap. The Dakar meeting provides a crucial bridge between those continental commitments and the emerging global agenda.

For South Africa, water is not only a resource, but a foundation for health, food, energy, jobs and dignity. But across Africa, many communities still face water scarcity and failing infrastructure, and struggle to access the funding needed for improvements. By taking part in the High-Level Preparatory Meeting, Minister Majodina is working to ensure that African priorities lead to concrete investments and long-term solutions.

The meeting aims to build a common roadmap towards the 2026 UN Water Conference to be co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates in December. Its outcomes are expected to influence the global water agenda and will feed into several high-level forums during the year.

South Africa views the High-Level Preparatory Meeting as an opportunity to deepen strategic partnerships, amplify African perspectives and ensure that the road to the 2026 UN Water Conference is informed by the realities, ambitions and opportunities on the continent.

Minister Majodina’s engagement will also include high-level political dialogues, thematic discussions and bilateral meetings with key stakeholders in the multilateral system, regional organisations, development finance institutions and the private sector.

As part of the preparatory meeting, the following round table sessions will also be held:

• Water for people: the human rights to water and sanitation, including for those in vulnerable situations, for healthy societies and economies;
• Water for prosperity: valuing water, water-energy-food nexus, advancing integrated and sustainable water resource management, wastewater and water-use efficiency across sectors, and economic and social development;
• Water for planet: climate, biodiversity, desertification, environment, source to sea, resilience and disaster risk reduction;
• Water for cooperation: transboundary and international water cooperation, including scientific cooperation, and inclusive governance;
• Water in multilateral processes: Sustainable Development Goal 6, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond, and global water initiatives.

Enquiries:
Departmental Spokesperson
Ms Wisane Mavasa
Cell: 060 561 8935
E-mail: mavasaw@dws.gov.za

Ministerial Spokesperson
Mr Cornelius Monama
Cell: 083 271 0808
E-mail: monamac@dws.gov.za

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