The Nile Basin Discourse Annual Report - 2022

Executive Summary:  

NBD reached significant achievements in the year 2022, through leveraging platforms for cooperation on the Nile, engaging young professionals, mobilizing flood prone grassroots communities, mobilizing grassroots women to form networks, and engaging the National Nile Discourse Forums (NDFs) on capacity building and sustainability.

NBD leveraged various platforms to fulfil the mandate to communicate benefits of Nile cooperation and risks of non-cooperation. These include: the Regional Nile Day 2022 celebrations, the Nile-COM meetings, the World Water Week, and the COP27 conference.

To expedite NBD’s outreach programmes and knowledge sharing, NBD ran a pilot youth internship programme in the Eastern Nile Basin Countries. The programme recruited young university graduates to closely work with NDFs in Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan; collecting real-time data and information on the priorities and concerns of grassroots women and youth mainly focusing on the NBD-NCCR project thematic area 2: Flood and Drought Risk Mitigation.

In order to amplify the voices of flood affected grassroots communities in the policy-making processes of governments and inter-governmental agencies such as NBI, NBD mobilized flood prone grassroots communities in Ethiopia and Sudan to interact with experts from both governments of the two countries and NBI’s NELSAP-CU.

Additionally, NBD mobilized grassroots women in member countries to establish fit-for-purpose networks at both national and regional levels. The networks will play key roles in effective uptake and sustainability of the NCCR project outcomes, and serve as a regional Task Force working with NBD and NBI on issues related to water and Women in line with the NBI Gender Mainstreaming Strategy.

During the fiscal year, NBD effectively liaised with and technically supported NDFs to mobilize stakeholders to inform the NCCR project especially flood-prone communities, recruiting young interns, formation of grassroots women networks, and in preparing monthly User Generated Content (UGC).

Aside the NCCR project context, NBD registered two achievements: (i) NBD became a member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), a status that gives NBD the opportunity to participate in the African civil society platform on climate change and sustainable development; and (ii) NBD secured a small seed funding from GIZ via Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) and implemented the project in collaboration with Community Initiative for Transformative Action-Uganda (CITA-Uganda) - a member of the Uganda NDF.