The USAID launched the Resilient Waters Program (RWP) in 2018.
The focus of the RWP is on:
- Improved transboundary management and governance,
- Improved access to water and sanitation services (WASH),
- Biodiversity and ecosystem conservation,
- Livelihoods development and
- Climate change adaptation.
These objectives are aligned to enhance the attainment of various Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) within the participating countries of the project footprint.
Both the SADC-GMI and RWP recognise the importance of strengthening groundwater management on a national and regional level and acknowledged that carrying forward the GMI-PLI work through developing strategic roadmaps to close the gaps identified in the Gap Analysis reports will make a significant contribution to sustainable groundwater management.
Through the project, PLI roadmaps will be developed in the following Member States: Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
The project will also enhance SADC-GMI’s compliance with the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) requirements within the groundwater sector.
The project will help to strengthen the institutional capacity of SADC-GMI and establish sustainable GESI structures to aid program planning, implementation and decision-making using specific case studies within the SADC-GMI portfolio to support training and other capacity-building initiatives.