Tewaney Seifesellassie, Head of Peace, Advocacy and Ethics Departmnt and Senior Climate Advisor at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC), represented the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) at the African Union 39th Pre-Summit Panel Discussions on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Climate Resilience, held in Addis Ababa on 9 and 11 February 2026
The engagements were organized in connection with the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, convened under the Theme of the Year: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.” The discussions brought together policymakers, civil society actors, development partners, researchers, and faith leaders to explore partnerships and innovative approaches for strengthening sustainable and climate-resilient WASH systems across Africa.
During the panel discussions, Tewaney Seifesellassie highlighted the important role of faith-based institutions in advancing water stewardship, climate resilience, ecosystem protection, and accountable governance. The intervention emphasized that churches and faith communities are trusted institutions embedded within local communities and are therefore well positioned to mobilize grassroots engagement, promote ethical stewardship of natural resources, and contribute to long-term solutions for water security and climate adaptation across the continent.
Through this engagement, EOC-DICAC, representing AACC, contributed to ongoing continental dialogue on strengthening partnerships, improving governance of water resources, and promoting inclusive and climate-resilient WASH systems aligned with the vision of Agenda 2063 – “The Africa We Want.”
The sections below provide a detailed account of the key discussions, insights, and contributions shared during the two AU Pre-Summit panel sessions on WASH governance, partnerships, and climate resilience.
Report Representation of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) AU 39th Pre-Summit Panel Discussions on WASH and Climate Resilience
Addis Ababa | 9 and 11 February 2026
The 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, convened in February 2026 in Addis Ababa, was held under the Theme of the Year: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
This theme reflects a strategic continental recognition that water and sanitation are not merely service delivery issues, but foundational pillars for Africa’s transformation. By placing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at the center of the 2026 agenda, the African Union affirmed that sustainable water governance is essential for advancing the aspirations of Agenda 2063, including inclusive economic growth, environmental sustainability, climate resilience, peace and security, gender equality, and human dignity.
Across the continent, water availability and sanitation systems are increasingly shaped by climate variability, population growth, urbanization, land degradation, and fragile governance structures. Droughts, floods, groundwater depletion, pollution, and weak infrastructure maintenance continue to undermine progress toward universal access. In many regions, water stress exacerbates food insecurity, fuels displacement, and intensifies local tensions over shared resources. As such, WASH is inseparable from broader issues of climate adaptation, public health, livelihoods, social cohesion, and economic productivity.
By elevating sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems as the Theme of the Year, the African Union positioned WASH as a cross-cutting driver of resilience and development rather than a narrow technical sector. The theme signals the need for integrated approaches that combine infrastructure development, watershed protection, ecosystem restoration, governance reform, climate-informed planning, and inclusive financing mechanisms. It also underscores the importance of regional cooperation in managing shared river basins and transboundary water systems, particularly in the face of climate-induced variability.
Within this continental and strategic context, I was privileged to represent the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) in two high-level Pre-Summit panel discussions held on 9 and 11 February 2026 in Addis Ababa. These engagements provided an opportunity to articulate the role of faith-based institutions in advancing water justice, climate resilience, and accountable governance as Africa moves toward the realization of Agenda 2063.
AU ECOSOCC Civil Society Pre-Summit 2026
The first high-level panel in which I represented the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) was convened under the title “Partnerships and Multistakeholder Engagement for Implementation of Sustainable Water and Sanitation.” The session brought together experts in gender, governance, infrastructure, data, climate, and faith engagement to examine how partnerships can accelerate progress toward universal access to safe water and sanitation in line with Agenda 2063 and SDG 6.
The central focus of the discussion was how Africa can strengthen partnerships across governments, civil society, private sector actors, research institutions, and faith-based organizations to deliver sustainable WASH outcomes. The panel recognized that although many partnership frameworks exist at policy level, implementation gaps remain significant.
In my intervention on behalf of AACC, I emphasized that Africa’s water crisis is not fundamentally a scarcity crisis, but a governance and justice crisis. Across many regions, water resources exist, yet weak governance systems, fragmented planning, poor maintenance structures, and limited accountability undermine sustainability.
I highlighted that multistakeholder partnerships must move beyond project-based coordination and instead institutionalize long-term accountability mechanisms. Too often, boreholes, sanitation facilities, and water schemes are constructed without structured maintenance financing, community oversight committees, or transparent monitoring frameworks. When accountability fades, infrastructure deteriorates.
I further stressed that watershed protection must be integrated into WASH partnerships. Sustainable water systems begin upstream. Deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss directly affect downstream water availability. Therefore, partnerships must link WASH to ecosystem restoration, climate adaptation, and nature-based solutions. Without protecting forests and watersheds, water infrastructure alone cannot guarantee sustainability.
Another critical dimension I raised was inclusion. Water governance systems often marginalize women, youth, and pastoralist communities from decision-making processes. Exclusion fuels grievance and weakens social cohesion. Inclusive multistakeholder partnerships are therefore not only a development imperative but also a peacebuilding strategy.
From a faith perspective, I emphasized that churches, mosques, and faith networks are uniquely positioned to strengthen WASH partnerships because they are trusted institutions embedded within communities beyond political cycles and project timelines. Faith actors can reinforce behavior change, ethical stewardship, collective responsibility, and transparent management of shared resources.
I concluded by affirming that effective partnerships must combine infrastructure, governance reform, ecosystem protection, climate resilience, and ethical leadership. Agenda 2063’s vision of “The Africa We Want” depends on accountable water governance systems rooted in justice, inclusion, and long-term sustainability.
Faithful Stewardship through “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063”Theme Focus: Climate Resilience, Adaptation and Inclusive WASH Systems
The second panel, held on 11 February 2026 during the AU Pre-Summit engagements in Addis Ababa, focused on the growing climate crisis and the urgent need to climate-proof Africa’s WASH systems. Under the African Union’s 2026 Theme of the Year — “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063” — the discussion moved beyond infrastructure to examine resilience, justice, and long-term sustainability.
The core question addressed was:How can Africa strengthen climate-resilient water and sanitation systems in the face of increasing droughts, floods, and transboundary risks?
In representing the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), I emphasized that climate change is no longer a future risk but a present structural disruptor of hydrological systems across Africa. Rainfall patterns are increasingly unpredictable. Drought cycles are longer and more severe. Flood events are more intense. Groundwater recharge systems are destabilized. In this context, conventional WASH infrastructure designed for historical climate patterns is becoming insufficient and vulnerable.
I highlighted that climate resilience in WASH must move from reactive responses to structural transformation.
First, climate risk integration is essential. Water planning must include hydrological mapping, early warning systems, anticipatory action frameworks, and adaptive infrastructure design capable of withstanding both prolonged drought and sudden flooding. Climate data must guide infrastructure decisions.
Second, ecosystem-based approaches are foundational. From the AACC perspective, watershed protection is not optional. Forests regulate rainfall cycles. Restored landscapes improve groundwater recharge. Nature-based solutions such as church forests, area closures, FMNR, and watershed rehabilitation are practical climate adaptation tools. These approaches align directly with Agenda 2063 Goal 7 on environmental sustainability and climate-resilient economies.
Third, I addressed transboundary Climate Adaptation Risks (TCAR). Shared rivers, aquifers, and climate systems require coordinated regional governance. Climate risks do not respect national borders. Adaptation financing and planning must therefore reflect regional interdependence under AU and IGAD coordination.
Fourth, I stressed the urgency of unlocking climate finance. Goal 7 cannot move without money. Adaptation finance, Loss and Damage mechanisms, and direct access funding must reach frontline communities. Faith-based organizations are often first responders and long-term custodians of resilience, yet they face structural barriers in accessing global climate funds. Localization of climate finance is therefore a justice issue.
Fifth, inclusion must remain central. Women and girls disproportionately bear the burden of water insecurity. Youth represent Africa’s demographic majority and must be empowered as climate leaders. Persons with disabilities must be systematically integrated into adaptation planning. Climate-resilient WASH cannot be achieved without equity.
Drawing from theological reflection, I framed water governance through the lens of stewardship. In the Abrahamic tradition, creation belongs to God, and humanity is entrusted with its care. Genesis 2:15 reminds us that humanity was placed in the garden “to till and to keep it.” Creation serves three purposes: to be utilized responsibly, to inspire wonder, and to be protected. In Ethiopia, church forests embody this theology in practice—combining prayer, ecological protection, watershed management, and biodiversity conservation. Faith-based resilience is therefore not abstract spirituality; it is practical climate action.
I further emphasized that faith institutions strengthen climate-resilient WASH through community mobilization, social capital, peacebuilding in climate-induced conflict areas, and ethical framing of resource stewardship. In drought- and flood-affected zones, faith leaders mediate resource-based tensions and prevent water scarcity from escalating into conflict.
Finally, I connected climate resilience to climate justice. The communities suffering the most severe water stress are those least responsible for global emissions. This imbalance raises ethical and moral questions that demand action in climate negotiations. Faith actors therefore advocate not only for adaptation finance and Loss & Damage funding, but also for debt relief measures that unlock fiscal space for African governments to invest in WASH and climate resilience.
I concluded by affirming that the AU’s 2026 theme offers a historic opportunity to integrate WASH, climate adaptation, peacebuilding, and green growth under Agenda 2063. Water security is not a standalone sector. It is the backbone of Africa’s resilience, prosperity, and social cohesion. Climate-resilient WASH systems are therefore both a development necessity and a moral imperative.
Representing the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) in these two high-level panel discussions reaffirmed the indispensable role of faith actors within Africa’s evolving water and climate governance architecture. Faith institutions are not peripheral stakeholders; they are embedded community anchors with moral authority, grassroots legitimacy, and long-term presence beyond political cycles and project timelines. They bridge the space between continental policy frameworks and the lived realities of vulnerable communities.
The 39th African Union Summit’s focus on sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems underscores that WASH is not a technical subsector but a strategic foundation for achieving Agenda 2063. Water security intersects directly with public health, food systems, climate resilience, peacebuilding, and economic transformation.
Through these engagements, AACC positioned faith communities as credible and constructive partners in advancing accountable water governance, climate-resilient WASH systems, inclusive adaptation planning, and justice-centered policy reform. The discussions demonstrated that ethical leadership, community stewardship, and equitable climate finance must move together if Africa is to realize “The Africa We Want.”
Genet Asefa, a 24-year-old mother from a remote area of North Wollo, has endured an extraordinary journey of hardship. Her daughter, Amen, was born with a birth defect known as clubfoot a condition that twists a baby’s foot out of its normal position.
Instead of compassion, Genet was met with stigma and harmful myths. Some community members told her that Amen’s condition was a punishment or caused by her own actions during pregnancy. Feeling ashamed and isolated, Genet hesitated to vaccinate her child. “I was afraid,” she recalls. “I thought the vaccine might make her leg worse.” Later, she admits, “It was my mistake. I didn’t understand how important vaccination was.”
Determined to seek treatment for her daughter, Genet traveled to Bahir Dar. But life there was painfully difficult. With no family, home, or income, she survived by sleeping on cold floors, renting space for 20 birr a night, or spending nights on the street. For over two years, she struggled to care for Amen in unimaginable hardship.
When the CDC-SIPI project, Health Extension Workers (HEWs), found Genet and Amen on the streets they learned that Amen, now four years old, had never received any vaccines a zero-dose child. Through patient discussion and reassurance, the HEWs earned Genet’s trust and helped her access vaccination services for her daughter. ReadMore/success
“The feeling of having my child immunized,” Genet says proudly, “is greater than anything else.” The fear and shame that once burdened her heart have been replaced with knowledge, confidence, and hope.
After receiving the first round of vaccines, Genet was invited to a Community Conversation (CC) session organized by EOC-DICAC and the local health team. There, she found acceptance and strength. Today, Genet is an active CC member and a strong advocate for vaccination. She tells every mother to let their child vaccinated around Gordema Gebriel Church.
With the support of the Health Extension Workers, Genet has found her voice and now stands beside them, reaching children who are too often forgotten. Her story is a reminder that compassionate healthcare not only saves lives but restores dignity and hope.
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Mariam Ware, a mother of two from Mismo village in Garbrare Kebele, Burji Zone, represents the transformation happening across these remote communities. Living with her husband as subsistence farmers, Mariam had watched helplessly as both her daughters—2-years-old Bereket Samuel and her one and half year sister; suffered from continuous coughing and repeated illnesses.
Neither of them had ever received routine immunization services before the mobile team's arrival. "My children often fell sick. They struggled with repeated coughs. For me as a mother, watching them suffering was heartbreaking," Mariam shared, her voice heavy with the memory of those difficult times. read more>Success
Mela’eke Selam Lealem, a dedicated priest deeply invested in the well-being of his community, resides In the Awi Zone, Banja Woreda, Bassa Kebele.