USAID/AFWASA RESEARCH GRANTS FOR YOUNG WATER AND SANITATION PROFESSIONALS.

Application are now open for the USAID/AFWASA grants for young water and sanitation professionals. As part of its capacity-building program for African actors in the water-sanitation-Hygiene sector (Africa) with funding from USAID, the African Water and Sanitation Association is setting up research grants for Young Water and Sanitation Professionals. The target recipients of these scholarships are master’s level students and engineers at the end of their training. Each grant, with a maximum value of 1,000 (one thousand) USD, will enable research work culminated in a scientific report on a theme in the Water, Hygiene and Sanitation sector.

Application Deadline: April 15, 2024

Students from eleven (11) West and Central African countries were given sixty (60) scholarships by the AAEA for the academic years 2016–2017, 2017–2018, and 2018–2019.Over the course of three years, further scholarships will be given out throughout Africa (2021–2024).Fifteen (15) scholarships were given to students from thirteen countries for the 2021–2022 school year.Twenty (20) additional scholarships from sixteen (16) countries were awarded for the 2022–2023 academic year. Of the selected scholarship holders, fifteen (15) were given out by USAID in the same manner as the regular Africap grants, and five were given to young women by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through SAO CWIS in an effort to close the gender gap in water, sanitation, and hygiene research.Students from all throughout Africa will be given 15 scholarships for the 2023–2024 school year.

research themes

The themes selected for this scholarship program for the 2023-2024 academic year are as follows:

1. Approaches to reducing Unrevenue Water in water companies
2. Improvement of Water Quality
3. Water services in low-income urban areas
4. Improvement of urban & peri-urban sanitation
5. Use of ICT (digital tools) in water and sanitation services
6. Water Resource Management
7. Water, Sanitation and Gender
8. Circular economy
9. Climate change

Benefits

• As part of this scholarship, the maximum amount allocated per beneficiary is 1,000 US Dollars. 
• Sixty percent (60%) of this amount will be paid to the beneficiary when the detailed plan of the research project is finalized, approved by the research supervisor and received by the AAEA Research and Capacity Building Program. 
• The remaining forty percent (40%) is paid once the recipient submits the electronic copy of their final research report.

Application process   for the USAID/AFWASA RESEARCH GRANTS 

Candidates for a scholarship will formulate their research topics in relation to one of the themes proposed in this call for applications. To apply, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a citizen of a sub-Saharan African country eligible for USAID funding;
• Be in good academic standing with their institution;
• Submit an application file including:

1. Copy of student card or registration receipt for the current year (Master 2)
2. The Bachelor’s degree,
3. The curriculum vitae (max. 3 pages),
4. Three letters of recommendation (one should be from the academic supervisor) which also certifies that the student is enrolled in Master 2,
5. The project sheet to download here 

During selection, priority will be given to students and young water professionals who are members of the AAEA.

For More Information and to apply for the USAID research grants, visit the USAID/AFWASA RESEARCH GRANTS FOR YOUNG WATER AND SANITATION PROFESSIONALS’ official website.