The High-Level Forum on Defying Drought (D2) in West Africa seeks to tackle the pressing challenges of drought within the broader context of climate change and population growth. The two-day program will:

  • Mobilize political commitment through a high-profile opening ceremony, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Regional Africa Water Center, and ministerial dialogues. These sessions will articulate strategic visions and policy directions for sustainable water and agricultural management, aimed at enhancing countries’ resilience to drought.
  • Deliver technical deep dives aligned with the World Bank Group Academy’s Defying Drought (D2) Program. These sessions will showcase regional and global best practices, and facilitate the co-design of a roadmap outlining short-, medium-, and long-term policy actions to strengthen drought resilience across West Africa.

The Defying Drought (D2) event is a unique initiative under the WBG Academy aimed to equip future leaders and development practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to address complex development challenges and accelerate impact in client countries.

The focus on drought is based on severe challenges due to climate change and high population growth, and the corollary that water scarcity could reduce the annual growth rate by up to 6 percent. Across Africa, droughts are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, threatening food security, water availability, and livelihoods for millions of people. In the Sahel region, prolonged dry spells and erratic rainfall have exacerbated land degradation and desertification, placing immense pressure on communities and increasing the risk of conflict over scarce resources.

The Defying Drought Impact Program is part of a larger capacity building initiative for the Africa region with an objective to reduce the impacts of drought through the execution of practical solutions in four key areas: (i) drought monitoring and forecasting; (ii) proactive water management, including water storage; (iii) deep dive in water conservation, including landscape/soil and agricultural water management and (iv) financing mitigation and recovery from droughts. The Program will start with a first cohort of Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal) before expanding to the continent and beyond.  Practical solutions would be leveraged from Brazil, Eswatini, Morocco and Kenya.

The event is co-organized by the World Bank Group, in collaboration with the Government of Burkina Faso, and the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE), with support from the Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP).

Over 300 participants including:

  • High-level policy makers, including ministers in charge of water, hydraulic, and agriculture from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sénégal.
  • Water sector experts from Brazil, Eswatini, Kenya, Morrocco.
  • Private sector and civil society representatives.
  • Regional and international institutions, including CILSS, FAO, World Bank, AfDB, Unicef, KFW, GIZ, ENABEL, etc. 

DAY 1 - September 29: High-Level Engagement and Strategic Dialogue

08:30 - 09:00

Registration and Welcome Coffee

09:00 - 09:45

Opening Session

 

Moderator: Master of Ceremony

  • Welcoming Address by Mr. Maurice Konate, President of the Special Delegation of the City of Ouagadougou
  • Remarks by Mr. Ousmane Diagana, Regional Vice President, Africa West, World Bank Group
  • Opening remarks by H.E. Rimtalba, Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso

09:50 - 10:30

Session 1: Strengthening Resilience in a Context of Emergency

 

Moderator: Master of Ceremony

Setting the stage: Defying Drought and Reviving Hope: Collective Action for a Drought-Resilient Sahel Video   

Lightning talk on Drought, Jobs, and Development

  • Mr. Juergen Voegele, Vice President for the Planet Vice Presidency, World Bank Group

A unique partnership: Memorandum of Understanding of the Africa Water Regional Center

  • Prof. El Hadji Bamba Diaw, General Director of International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE Institute) 

Signing Ceremony

  • Dr. Aboubakar Nacanabo, Minister of Economy and Finance of Burkina Faso
  • Mr. Ousmane Diagana, Regional Vice President, Africa West, The World Bank Group
  • Mr. Roger Baro, Minister of Environment, Water and Sanitation of Burkina Faso
  • Prof. El Hadji Bamba Diaw, General Director of International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE Institute)

10:30 - 10:45

Group photo

10:45 - 11:15

Coffee Break

11:15 - 12:45

Special High-level Event: Planting Hope

 

Facilitator: Dr. Boureima Kouanda, General Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation of Burkina Faso

A commitment by policy makers to combat drought: Tree Planting by Ministers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, WBG officials, and 2iE Institute officials

12:45 - 14:00

Lunch and Meet the Experts

14:00 - 16:00

Session 2: High Level Roundtable: Strategies and Policy Responses for Effective Drought Management  

 

Strengthening institutional and regional coordination: Ministerial roundtable with contribution from development partners and the private sector on monitoring, managing, and financing recovery

Moderators

  • Mr. Chakib Jenane, Regional Practice Director for the Planet team in  Africa Region, and Ms. Clara Coutinho de Sousa, Division Director, World Bank
  • Mr. Saroj Kumar Jha, Global Director, Water Global Department, World Bank

Government Panelists

High-level representatives from the Ministries in charge of water and agriculture of:

  • Burkina Faso: Mr. Roger Barro, Minister of Environment, Water and Sanitation and Commandant Ismaël Sombie, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fisheries Resources
  • Chad: M. Saleh Haggar Nour, General Secretary, Ministry of Water and energy and M. Boubakari Hamadou, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Agricultural Production and Industrialization
  • Mali: M. Boubacar Diané, Minister of Energy and Water and M. Garantigui Traore, General Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture
  • Mauritania: M. Mohamed Mahmoud El Eyil, National coordinator of water and sanitation sectoral project, Ministry of Hydraulic and Sanitation and M. Mohamed Ahmed Benane, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
  • Niger: Colonel Maizama Abdoulaye, Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Sanitation and Colonel Mahmoud El adj Ouamane, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
  • Senegal: Mr. Amadou Diallo, Program Coordinator, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, and Mr. Youssoupha Gueye, Program Coordinator, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock

Regional and International Organizations

  • CILSS: Dr. Abdoulaye Mohamadou, Executive Secretary of Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel
  • FAO: Ms. Bintia Stephen Tchicaya, Subregional Coordinator for West Africa

16:00 - 16:30

Coffee Break

16:30 - 17:30

Starting with the Next Generation of Policy Makers: Co-Creating Solutions with Youth and the Private Sector

Moderator: Ms. Fatouma Toure Ibrahima, Practice Manager, Water Global Practice, World Bank Group

Introduction: Dr Daniel Yamegueu, Head of Knowledge Department at 2iE Institute

  • Slam on Drought
  • Lightning talk with policy makers and the private sector
  • Resilience strategy in agriculture. Tégawindé Kaboré, PhD Student at 2iE Institute
  • Food insecurity, drought and decision making, Serigne Coly, PhD Student at 2iE Institute
  • 2iE Institute Student Declaration, A Commitment to Combat Drought

The voice of the Private sector

  • Mr. Omar Coulibaly PDG / Founder of InnoFaso
  • Mr. Josias Kere, PDG / Founder – AgriMinga

17:30 - 17:45

Session 3: Way Forward – Priorities for Action

 

Conclusion by the moderators and anticipating exchanges on global success stories and technical deep dives.

17:45-18:00

Official Closing of Day 1

 

By Host Government

18:00 - 20:00

Closing Cocktail Reception and cultural performance

 

DAY 2 - September 30: Technical Solutions and Roadmap for Action

08:30 - 09:00

Arrival and Coffee

09:00 - 09:15

Presentation of Technical Session Summary of Day 1

Moderator: Master of Ceremony

09:15 - 15:45

Including Lunch and Break

Session 4: Practical Solutions “Defying Drought”, A WBG Academy Program – Thematic Deep Dives

09:15 - 09:25

Introduction 

Ms. Fatouma Toure Ibrahima, Practice Manager, Water Global Practice, World Bank Group

09:25 - 10:25

Deep Dive 1: Drought Monitoring and Forecasting

 

Speakers

  • Prof. Harouna Karambiri, Director of Cooperation, Entrepreneurship and Capacity Building at 2iE Institute
  • Dr. Nathan Engle, Senior Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Group
  • Mr. Victor Mahlalela, CEO of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Kingdom of Eswatini
  • Mr. Eduardo Martins, President of FUNCEME Ceara (Research Institute for Meteorology and Water Resources), Brazil
  • Mr. Frederic Dabire, Program Coordinator, Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel.

Rapporteurs

  • Dr. Ousmane Roland Yonaba, Research Faculty in Hydraulics and Hydrology, 2iE Institute
  • Serigne Coly, PhD Student at 2iE Institute

10:25 - 10:45

Short Break

10:45 - 11:45

Deep Dive 2: Proactive Water Management

 

Speakers

  • Prof. Yacouba Konate, head of the research laboratory for Water, Hydrosystems and Agriculture at 2iE
  • Ms. Eileen Burke, Global Lead for Water for Planet/Water Resources Management, World Bank Group
  • Dr. Yeli Mariam Dakoure Sou, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Group
  • Mr. Bertrand Tapsoba, Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation, Burkina Faso

Rapporteurs

  • Dr. Boukary Sawadogo, Research Faculty in Water and Sanitation, 2iE Institute
  • Dr. Héla Karoui, Research Faculty in Water and Sanitation, 2iE Institute

11:45 - 13:45

Lunch and Meet the Experts (Round 2)

13:45 - 14:45

Deep Dive 3: Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management

 

Speakers

  • Dr. Amadou Keita, Lecturer researcher in Irrigation and Drainage at 2iE Institute
  • Dr. Amal Talbi, Global Lead for Water and Food, World Bank Group
  • Mr. Siaka Sanon, CEO of d’Agroserv Industrie
  • Mr. Mahmoud Badiss, Ministry of Agriculture, Morocco

Rapporteurs

  • Dr. Lawani Adjadi MOUNIROU, Research Faculty in Applied Hydraulics, 2iE Institute
  • Ms. Tegawinde Vanessa Rosette BORO/KABORE, Doctorante, 2iE Institute

14:45 - 15:45

Deep Dive 4: Financing Drought Mitigation and Recovery

Coffee available

Speakers

  • Representative from MoF, Burkina Faso
  • Dr. Nathan Engle, Senior Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Group
  • Mr. Richard Colback, Agribusiness Water Specialist at IFC, World Bank Group
  • Mr. Joel Bamogo, CEO of Yelen Assurance

Rapporteurs

  • Mr. Léonce Some, Head of Expertise and Continuing Education Department, 2iE Institute
  • Mr. Abdoul-Wahab Annou, Manager of the Incubation and Entrepreneurship Center, 2iE Institute

15:45 - 16:30

Session 5: Creation of a Coalition of Change Makers: “Defying Drought (D2)”

 

Moderator:  Ms. Ayşe Boybeyi, Senior Knowledge Management and Learning Officer, World Bank Group

  • Review of D2 program roadmap
  • Establishing the D2 Community of Practice
  • Capacity building and facilitating collaboration within and between countries

 16:30 - 16:45

Session 6: Bringing the Forum Together: A Cohesive Journey

 

Moderator: Master of Ceremony

  • Key insights from ministerial dialogues and technical discussions
  • Shared priorities and next steps

16:45 - 17:00

Closing Remarks

 
  • Mr. Hamoud Abdel Wedoud Kamil, Country Manager of Burkina Faso, World Bank Group
  • Closing remark by the Government of Burkina Faso representative