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By Djinodji SOLMENGAR Rodrigue

The Government of Chad and the World Bank Group will co-host the African Water Forum: From Vision to Action in N’Djamena on July 15 and 16, 2026.

The event will bring together African heads of state, ministers, development partners, private investors and water sector experts to discuss urgent solutions to the continent’s growing water crisis.

According to the organizers, more than 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to safe drinking water, while water insecurity could reduce economic output in the Sahel by up to 12 percent by 2050.

The forum is part of the World Bank’s global Water Forward initiative, launched in April 2026 to accelerate investments and strengthen political commitments aimed at improving water access for 400 million people by 2030.

Discussions will focus on three main priorities: mobilizing transformative financing, developing national water investment roadmaps, and enhancing cooperation across Africa’s transboundary river basins.

The two-day meeting will take place at the Hotel of Finance and Economy in N’Djamena.

Djinodji Solmengar

Djinodji Solmengar Rodrigue is a journalist with MRTV English, Chad’s first English-language media outlet, where he led English-language news coverage at its launch. Based in N’Djamena, his reporting explores political, economic, and social developments, with particular attention to everyday realities, informal sectors, and cultural life. His work also extends to football and broader societal issues, approached through field reporting and in-depth storytelling. Beyond reporting, Djinodji regularly conducts interviews focused on education, including the teaching of English in Chad, as well as conversations (with AFROTRONIX, to name a few) on culture and music. He is also active as an English–French interpreter, working alongside international media professionals. In this capacity, he recently supported and interpreted for a delegation of foreign journalists, including BBC representatives, during the PND Chad Connexion 2030 mission. Alongside his professional practice, Djinodji is pursuing a PhD, with research centered on the presence of China and Russia in Africa as portrayed in selected Commonwealth online media. His academic interests lie at the intersection of media, geopolitics, and discourse analysis. Earlier in his career, he taught English and authored a Master’s thesis examining the contextualization of English language teaching in Chad, reflecting a sustained engagement with educational challenges and policy.