According to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, less than 5 per cent of wastewater in many developing countries is treated before it reaches the environment. This could potentially fuel health crises, degrade ecosystems, and undermine sustainable development.
While efforts to expand wastewater treatment infrastructure continue, there is growing recognition that improved wastewater data can fill important knowledge gaps in public health and environmental monitoring, ultimately helping decision-makers respond to threats more quickly and in a more targeted and cost-effective way.
UNEP’s Wastewater Surveillance for Africa (WWS) Initiative is bringing together countries in the region to advance cost-effective, scalable systems for wastewater monitoring and analysis. These systems can detect pathogens and other markers, offer early warning insights for disease prevention and control, and detect rising risks and threats to human and ecosystem health.
“This initiative is about empowering relevant stakeholders in African countries,” said Heidi Savelli-Soderberg, Chief of UNEP’s Source to Sea Pollution Unit. “It will provide the space for them to share their experience on wastewater and environmental surveillance, and to learn from each other how to turn data into action.”
With 42 per cent of household wastewater untreated globally, billions of people face growing health risks from water pollution, a joint UNESCO and UN-Water report finds. In many African countries, the risk is even higher, as over 90 per cent of wastewater is released untreated into rivers, lakes and oceans, a report by the African Development Bank group finds. The impact is especially severe in low-income countries, where waterborne diseases, antimicrobial resistance, unsustainable food systems and unsafe water reuse remain widespread.
The Wastewater Surveillance for Africa Initiative, launched in 2024, aims to strengthen systems for wastewater and environmental surveillance across the African region and equip countries with the technical and human capacity to use these systems for protecting environmental and public health.
Against this backdrop, representatives of government agencies, scientists and partners from 16 African countries gathered at the Southern Africa Regional Workshop on Wastewater Surveillance for Environmental and Public Health in Johannesburg from 08 to 10 April 2025 to identify priorities for a wastewater management roadmap and build synergies between sectors. The workshop was organized by UNEP, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Participants at the workshop shared knowledge and best practices from the region, and identified capacity needs for scaling up wastewater surveillance efforts in their countries. The adopted roadmap, a capacity assessment and feedback from participating governments will inform the next steps across the region. These will be directed at scaling up targeted solutions, strengthening institutional frameworks, and mobilizing investment for wastewater surveillance and sustainable wastewater management in Africa.
The workshop is part of UNEP’s 30-month Initiative, “Wastewater Surveillance for Africa” (WWS), funded by the European Union’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
For more information, contact riccardo.zennaro@un.org, josephine.nduguti@un.org or geraldine.deblon@un.org.
Wastewater Surveillance of Africa Initiative
The WWS for Africa Initiative is aligned with the goals of the Global Consortium for Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance for Public Health (GLOWACON), the Libreville Declaration on Health and Environment in Africa, the One Health Quadripartite Joint Plan of Action, and the UNEP-WHO Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA). The Initiative started in July 2024 and will be implemented through 2026 together with key partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and with the financial support of the European Union Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
