In 2010 and 2011, 25 Sister City partnerships representing 13 African countries and 16 U.S. states were competitively selected to participate in AUPAP. Through these partnerships, community members in the African cities, along with members of civic, municipal, and private organizations in both the U.S. and Africa, selected projects in the areas of water, sanitation, and health to address local problems in these areas. Together the U.S. and African partners combined their technical expertise and experience to plan, implement, and monitor their projects, with administrative and technical support from Sister Cities International.
AUPAP is currently in its third year of the grant and has projects underway in Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia. The program is funded through a generous $7.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Through inter-city collaboration, lessons learned in one city can be used elsewhere to improve the quality, success and cost-effectiveness of everyone’s efforts,” said Melanie Walker, senior program officer for Special Initiatives for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Knowledge sharing provides long-term support for developing world cities, creates sustainable solutions that empower urban poor to improve their lives, and has the potential to expand between cities and nations around the world.”
Source: Sister Cities International
