AU Water Infrastructure Push Taps BRICS Bank Funding
Africa · Eastern
Key Facts
—Theme adopted. The AU Assembly endorsed the 2026 water and sanitation theme on 14 February in Addis Ababa.
—Funding gap. AU-linked commentary cites a US$30 billion annual water-and-sanitation investment shortfall across the continent.
—Ethiopia’s role. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed presented the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a model for regional water infrastructure.
—BRICS connection. The New Development Bank recently approved a US$1 billion loan for South African urban infrastructure including water and sanitation.
—Currency shift. The NDB aims to increase lending in members’ national currencies to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
The African Union wants to turn its water and sanitation plans into projects that can attract investment, and it is looking to the BRICS development bank to help pay for them.
A summit decision with a financing subtext
On 14 February 2026, the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government adopted the theme “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.” The decision, taken during the 39th Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, formally elevated water, sanitation and hygiene to a continental political and strategic priority.
Yet the language coming out of Addis Ababa goes well beyond taps and toilets. AU communications describe access to water as a collective good and a moral, political and strategic necessity for development, public health, food security and stability.
Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, the outgoing AU chairperson, opened the summit by calling water a strategic priority. AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf reinforced the message, framing the theme as integral to Agenda 2063, Africa’s long-term development blueprint.
Ethiopia positions itself as a hydro-strategic hub
Hosting the summit gave Ethiopia a platform to shape the water conversation. Ethiopian officials used a civil-society pre-summit in early February to argue for “measurable action rather than rhetoric” on water and sanitation.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed then presented the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a practical example of large-scale water infrastructure that can support regional integration and energy exports. For business readers, the subtext is clear: Ethiopia wants to be seen as both a hydro-strategic state and a financing hub for African infrastructure diplomacy.
The GERD narrative fits neatly into the AU’s broader framing of water through the WEFE nexus — water, energy, food and ecosystems. Addis-based commentary indicates that purification, desalination and water-management projects are being prioritised within the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
Where BRICS enters the AU water infrastructure equation
The financing arithmetic makes the BRICS connection almost inevitable. AU-linked sources put the annual water-and-sanitation investment gap at roughly US$30 billion.
Broader continent-wide infrastructure financing needs are far larger, with estimates ranging from US$130 billion to over US$220 billion per year.
Traditional Western-linked development finance cannot close that gap alone. This is where the New Development Bank, the BRICS institution established in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, enters the picture.
The NDB recently approved a loan of up to US$1 billion for South African urban infrastructure that explicitly includes water and sanitation components. Its 2022–2026 strategy targets a higher share of lending in members’ national currencies, a deliberate move to reduce currency mismatch risk and dependence on the US dollar.
The great-power contest over African infrastructure
This story sits inside a larger competition for African infrastructure, markets, minerals and diplomatic alignment. The main geopolitical fault line runs between Western-led finance and security influence on one side, and BRICS and South–South financing models on the other.
China remains the most significant external infrastructure player across the continent, with heavy investments in transport, energy and digital networks. Russia’s role leans more toward diplomatic and security use, while BRICS as a bloc offers African governments an additional bargaining platform in an increasingly multipolar order.
The AU water theme is therefore not merely about service delivery. It is about who pays for African infrastructure, in what currency, with what governance conditions, and whether African states can convert development needs into geopolitical use. Read more in our pillar Africa: The New Scramble.
Financial sovereignty and the local-currency push
BRICS-friendly commentary argues that African states increasingly want infrastructure lending that is project-based, denominated in local currency, and politically more autonomous than traditional Western financing. The NDB’s currency strategy aligns directly with this demand.
For African borrowers, dollar-denominated debt carries inherent exchange-rate risk. When local currencies depreciate, repayment costs can spiral, squeezing national budgets and delaying project pipelines.
The AU-linked Africa Infrastructure Financing Facility, launched to accelerate cross-border projects, is part of the same conversation. It signals that African institutions want more control over project selection, procurement and debt terms, rather than accepting conditions set in Washington, London or Brussels.
What this means for Latin American readers
Brazil and other Latin American economies face parallel infrastructure financing challenges and are watching Africa’s experiments with BRICS-aligned models closely. The NDB is headquartered in Shanghai but counts Brazil as a founding member, and Brazilian construction and engineering firms have long been active in African infrastructure markets.
If the AU’s water push succeeds in attracting significant NDB and other BRICS-linked capital, it could create a template for South–South infrastructure finance that Latin American governments study and adapt. The currency dimension is especially relevant for Brazilian policymakers concerned with dollar exposure.
The South–South thread runs both ways. African and Latin American economies share an interest in development finance that does not come with heavy political conditionality, and both regions are navigating the same great-power competition for resources, access and alignment.
What to watch next
The real test will be whether the 2026 theme translates into concrete project pipelines and signed financing agreements before the year ends. Watch for NDB board approvals that explicitly reference AU water and sanitation priorities.
Also monitor whether Ethiopia converts its summit hosting role into a lasting position as a water-infrastructure diplomacy hub. The GERD remains a politically sensitive project with downstream neighbours, and its success or failure will colour perceptions of Ethiopia’s hydro-strategic ambitions.
Finally, pay attention to currency composition in new African infrastructure loans. A meaningful shift toward local-currency lending would signal that the BRICS financing model is gaining real traction, not just rhetorical support.
Connected Coverage
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the African Union decide about water and sanitation in 2026?
On 14 February 2026, the AU Assembly adopted water and sanitation as its annual thematic priority under the title “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.” The decision frames safe water as a collective good and a strategic priority for development, public health, food security and stability across the continent.
How does BRICS financing connect to the AU water agenda?
Africa faces a large annual water-and-sanitation investment gap, estimated at US$30 billion by AU-linked sources. The BRICS New Development Bank offers an alternative to Western-dominated funding, with a strategy that prioritises local-currency lending and project-based finance.
A recent example is the NDB’s approval of up to US$1 billion for South African urban infrastructure including water and sanitation.
What role does Ethiopia play in the 2026 water push?
Ethiopia hosted the AU summit in Addis Ababa and used the platform to position itself as a hydro-strategic state and infrastructure-financing hub. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed highlighted the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a model for large-scale water infrastructure that can support regional integration and energy exports.
Sources
Sources: African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government; Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed; New Development Bank.
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