Five Global Water Center team members traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, this August to participate in the Africa Water & Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium, where leaders from across Africa and beyond explored how to improve water access and create lasting change on the continent. 

The urgency is enormous: nearly 418 million people across Africa still lack access to basic drinking water and about 779 million lack basic sanitation. 

One of the symposium’s central themes was systems thinking: recognizing that lasting change depends on more than infrastructure alone. As GWC Senior Technical Advisor Kogi Chege reflected: 

“At the heart of the symposium was a call to move beyond viewing infrastructure — whether for water or sanitation — as merely a means to an end. Instead, participants were invited to consider infrastructure as part of a living system, one that requires deep understanding to function sustainably in improving lives and as an economic enabler.” 

The conversations throughout the symposium highlighted how leadership, strong institutions, skilled professionals, financing, and innovation all have to work together to build sustainable water systems. 

Alongside the symposium, GWC hosted Global Water Gathering: Kigali, bringing together 120 water and sanitation professionals for an evening of connection, conversation, and collaboration. The event featured a presentation from Dr. Rose Kaggwa, Senior Director of Business and Scientific Services at Uganda’s National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and Executive Director of the African Water and Sanitation Academy (AWASA). 

During the event, participants were invited to turn to someone next to them, ideally someone they did not already know, and consider: How do you build the knowledge and skills of people in your organization? 

It was a simple question that reflected a larger theme of the week: strong water systems are built through collaboration. Knowledge has to be shared. People have to be equipped. Organizations have to learn from one another. And the relationships needed to move ideas into action have to be built and sustained. 

That is one of Global Water Center’s core roles: convening the people, ideas, and expertise needed to move the water sector forward. Throughout the week, GWC team members connected with new and existing partners, laying the groundwork for future collaboration. 

The Global Water Gathering: Kigali continues a tradition that began with Global Water Gathering: Charleston in 2025, bringing water professionals together around shared challenges and opportunities. And the conversation will continue with Global Water Gathering: Charleston in May 2027. 

Each gathering is an opportunity to strengthen relationships, share knowledge, and discover what becomes possible when we work across organizations and borders. 

From Kigali to Charleston, Global Water Center is bringing people together because ending the global water crisis will require all of us. 

Interested in joining us in Charleston in 2027? Fill out this interest form to learn more.