Overview 13
Network–Learning Alliance in an existing organization (IWA) will make it more cost-efficient and sustainable. Within the World Bank Group, the Water and Sanitation Program and the World Bank Institute would be important partners, but learning across Regions would also be essential. By its very nature an IUWM Network–Learning Alliance for Africa would be cross-sectoral. Within the World Bank it would, at a minimum, involve the Urban and Water networks in addition to the Africa Region. Close contacts with other parts of the Bank working on similar issues, such as the LAC Water Beam, would be crucial to maximize the ability of the Bank to draw globally on knowledge and centers of excellence. IUWM is not a silver bullet that will solve all of Africa’s urban water problems. Its ideas and approaches will require testing on the ground and in the sewers and pipes of African cities. Some will work well and some will be rejected. Some will be cost-efficient and some will be too expensive. But because it proposes to build systems incrementally and with broad consultation from stakeholders, the IUWM approach is by nature pragmatic. The flexibility of the options it proposes, and its adaptability to a range of current and future conditions, will be a powerful tool to provide clean, safe water to African communities.