Executive Summary:  

In the year 2021, NBD achieved promising results in the areas of resource mobilization, building Capacity of its members, revitalizing engagements with NBI, and refreshing member commitment in a bid to enhance NBD network’s visibility and impact.

In effort to attain financial sustainability, NBD contracted a Regional Resource Mobilization Expert (RRME) who drafted a funding proposal and a Resource Mobilization Strategy.       NBD commissioned a legal study to explore the possibilities of establishing a Consultancy Firm for NBD Network to generate additional income; the final output of which is a report with recommendations to register NBD as a company limited by guarantee to contribute to the sustenance of the operations of the NBD Network.

NBD implemented capacity building training for Women and youth in the 10 member countries; the training benefitted a total of 563 people (395 Female, & 168 Male) in terms of acquiring knowledge and skills on aspects of water resource management, climate resilience, integrated flood & drought risk mitigation, and green jobs.
NBD ensured accountability to development partners and beneficiaries through a successful external audit exercise whose report was presented and adopted at the NBD’s 8th General Assembly in Nairobi.

NBD organised transboundary community dialogues on Rusumo Falls Hydropower, Sio-Malaba- Malakisi, Mara River Basin, and Lakes Edward and Albert Fisheries II projects which benefitted 313 individuals (86 male and 227 female) living in communities around the project sites. The dialogues provided information and enhanced the communities’ knowledge of the transboundary projects.

NBD built capacity of 61 people on the need for engaging communities in climate resilience, empowering youth on green Jobs, gender mainstreaming in water, and transboundary dialogues on the Nile River through a stakeholder engagement workshop that was run back-to-back with the 8th NBD AGM in December 2021.
NBD’s knowledge and information sharing improved through gathering of monthly User Generated Content from the 10 NDFs and uploading to NBD’s community blog on the website. The organisation benefited from an increased mentioning and coverage by several media outlets on its activities at national and transboundary levels; increased publicity means increased legitimacy and credibility on the works of the NBD Network.

Suffice to note, all these results were achieved amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which has largely constrained NBD’s communication, physical movements, and interactions needed for project implementation. Besides, conflicts/political upheavals in Sudan, Ethiopia, and DRC also affected NBD’s activity implementation at national and regional levels.