The Gates foundation supporting initiatives on improved access to water and sanitation says Africa needs risk takers for progress to be seen in implementation of systems and innovations being developed to improve sanitation in the region impacting on human development and economies.

Dr. Kone Doulaye, Interim director water, sanitation and hygiene at Gates Foundation speaking during a Mayors forum at the 22ndAfrica Water and Sanitation (AfWASA) congress and exhibition in Uganda said what is critical now is for cities to find right financing systems and make sanitation a very sustainable business.

“We need organizations, we need entrepreneurs who would embark and try new things which when they bring tangible results, will help bring constituencies together to share knowledge, learning so that we can do more asking…to drive forward universal access to sanitation services,” he said

Lilongwe City mayor Esther Sagawa who shared with the forum of mayors strategies the city is using to manage sanitation said it is high time action was taken by interested partners on latest sanitation systems to serve populations effectively.

“The immediate support that we need is financing because if you look at the planning and the budgeting it has already been done. All we need is funding to build a fecal sludge treatment plant.

“We have seen that this is one of the essential areas that we really need to look into as a city because we cannot have a city if we don’t have a treatment plant. That means we are not regarding sanitation very seriously,” she added.

The mayors have committed to join forces in implementing the One Africa One Treatment plant initiative being championed by AfWASA to meet targets on improved sanitation.