Assembly/AU/ Decl.1 (XI) Page 2 water, investing in information, knowledge and monitoring and institutional development as well capacity building; Aware also of the urgent need to develop our water and sanitation infrastructure and institutions in order to provide sufficient and sustainable quantity and quality for all types of services and provide acceptable level of protection from risks of water related disasters and impact of climate change as key for the transformation and socio-economic development, and for public health in Africa; Recognizing the progress that the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and other institutions and organizations and their development partners have made in the area of water resource management and in the provision of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to the urban and rural populations of our countries albeit the inadequacies; Welcoming the Ministerial Declaration and outcomes of the first Africa Water Week convened by AMCOW and hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunis, Tunisia from 26 to 28 March 2008; and further welcoming the eThekwini Declaration on Sanitation and its accompanying actions adopted in South Africa in February 2008, and the Africa-EU Statement on Sanitation of March 2008; Acknowledging the work done by AMCOW in mobilizing action towards sustainable and integrated water resource management and in providing policy guidance for coordination of water resources management and for water supply and sanitation initiatives as well as the funding mechanisms put in place for these initiatives; WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO: (a) Increase our efforts to implement our past declarations related to water and sanitation. (b) Raise the profile of sanitation by addressing the gaps in the context of the 2008 eThekwini Ministerial Declaration on sanitation in Africa adopted by AMCOW. (c) Address issues pertaining to agricultural water use for food security as provided for in the Ministerial Declaration and outcomes of the first African Water Week. And particularly; (d) Develop and/or update national water management policies, regulatory frameworks, and programmes, and prepare national strategies and action plans for achieving the MDG targets for water and sanitation over the next seven (7) years; (e) Create conducive environment to enhance the effective engagement of local authorities and the private sector;