Eastern Nile Gender Forum

Daniel Asrat has many years of professional experience in the areas of rural community development, environment, water resource management, and energy. He is currently working in the Ministry of Water and Energy as a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) consultant on the Ethiopian Electrification Program (ELEAP).

His work at ELEAP has included a focus on Gender Improvement and Citizen Engagement, including design of Disbursement Linked Indicators to minimize the gap between men and women employees. He has played a role in monitoring gender improvement, which has included ensuring that the indicators are gender sensitive. He has worked to ensure there is sex-disaggregated data in the database system, a gender-responsive M&E system, and gender-responsive capacity building.  Daniel is committed to gender equality and has been working with the Women’s Affairs section of the Ministry responsible for facilitating gender mainstreaming into sectors and projects. 

"As a Male Champion, I strive to advocate for gender equality in the water and energy sectors. I believe in the power of diversity and inclusion to drive positive change. My goal is to inspire others to join me in creating a more equitable and inclusive environment. Together, we can make a difference and build a better future for all."

Stephen is a water resource management expert with more than 30 years of experience working in Africa. He obtained a Ph.D. from Colorado State University and an MSc in water management from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.  Stephen works as an independent consultant based in Accra, Ghana and is currently providing water resources management advisory services mainly in the Africa region.

During his work as the senior regional adviser at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), he provided knowledge and experience on policy formulation, dialogue, coordination, and advocacy including gender transformation and women’s empowerment in the water and environment sectors. He initiated the Pretoria Water and Gender Action Plan in 2005 and continued his commitment by supporting the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) as a Board member. He is keenly interested in actions that men can take to deal with the ongoing low presence and participation of women in the transboundary water sphere.

“Sustainability of water infrastructure and management systems in Africa depends on the most frequent users, who are women. Their full participation in design, implementation, and maintenance is a prerequisite to success.”

Dereje worked for Ethiopia's Ministry of Water and Energy, involved with water-related programs and projects, from 2012-2019. He also participated in many transboundary water-related trainings and events. He has been working as a senior grant acquisition and planning officer for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC) and as a member of the Act Alliance since January 2023. 

In his current role, he helps develop gender-sensitive corporate partnerships, planning, and M&E strategies for various humanitarian and development programs. Through the application of a transformative masculinity approach, he is actively engaged with the organization's Gender Unit to advance women's empowerment and gender justice.  He has integrated gender issues into aspects of his professional development and made contributions to gender awareness including as a volunteer and committee member for the Women and Youth Affairs Department, participating in the production of the yearly gender bulletin, and developing and implementing gender-sensitive projects focused on managing and preventing gender-based violence. 

 “The Male Champions Forum provides an enabling environment for more women as engineers and experts in the water sector and to get a better balance of perspectives.”

Chris is a consultant on water resources development and previously worked as director, water resources and as acting chief executive officer of the Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency (LVSWWDA). He also represented Kenya as the Technical Advisory Committee member of the Nile Basin Initiative (2015-2024) and served on the steering committee of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Hydrological Cycle Observing System and as a senior official on the Kenya team at the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. 

Chris has worked to empower the female staff at the Water Ministry including by recruiting a female staff member to be his deputy and colleague at UNESCO and IAEA. At the Ministry, at LVSWWDA, and when working on rural domestic water supply and sanitation programs, he advocated for gender balance and inclusion of women in decision-making positions. 

“As long as gender equality and inclusion of women are not given the priority they deserve, then the realization of the SDGs and especially those goals touching on water and the environment will not be achieved.”

Gerald Kairu is a multi-skilled professional with graduate training in environment and natural resources management and in M&E. Gerald is currently regional program manager in the Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa (GWPEA). He has more than 15 years of experience in climate change, community-based natural resources management, conservation financing, and high-value agriculture. 

Throughout his work, he has supported the advancement of gender equality in project development and implementation. As part of his work for the Integrated Drought Management Program in the Horn of Africa (IDMP-HOA), he supported social inclusion in drought management and promotion of the role of women in building drought resilience. For the Water Climate Development and Gender Program (WACDEP-G), he coordinated the gender transformative project on Water and Climate Development. Gerald is committed to advancing gender equality by actively promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment for all genders, challenging gender stereotypes and biases, and advocating for policies and practices that foster inclusivity and diversity in all aspects of life.

“I'm committed to advancing women and women's empowerment by actively promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment so that they are not overlooked in

transboundary water project development but also project implementation.”

Francis is currently working on his PhD at the Institute of Peace, Security and Development at the University of Juba focusing on transboundary water resources management of the Nile Basin for peace and security. He previously was director of policy, sector coordination and regulation in the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, a focal point for the UNECE Convention for Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, and founder and executive director of the Community Initiative for the Sustainable Peace Organization.

He has supported the promotion of gender equality through the delivery of a capacity-building program that dealt with gender including training men and women on conflict resolution and peace building that considered how conflict affects women differently. Gender equality is at the core of the community-based initiative, which  includes working to mobilize women and men on social programs and implementing core values of inclusivity and participation.

"If I want to be an excellent speaker on water issues, I work alone or with men. But if I want to be an effective and efficient water manager, I work with women."

Michael works for the Orange–Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) Secretariat as environment and water quality manager. Previously he worked for the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and coordinated the development of RSAP IV, the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Regional Strategic Action Plan (RSAP)on Water Resources Management. 

Through his work, Michael has always strived for inclusion of women, youth, and disadvantaged groups in water resources management and community-based natural resources management. Michael is in charge of implementing projects in ORASECOM member states that target women’s inclusion to ensure they benefit from interventions. This also requires the implementation of the ORASECOM Gender Strategy, which promotes women’s participation at various levels.  He is currently playing a key role to support the establishment of the ORASECOM Women in Water Diplomacy Network.

“For Southern Africa to prosper and sustainably manage their water resources, it is imperative for gender equality to be at the forefront of the movement to ensure all stakeholders play a key role. The environment has to be enabling for both men and women to be counted as equal contributors and participants in water management”

Pinimidzai is a program officer with Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA). He is a strategy, governance, and gender development professional with more than 20 years of experience delivering advisory services in energy, water, and resilience to the public and private sectors with a focus on equality, women’s economic empowerment, social development, and inclusive innovation in Africa. He has experience in policy and strategy development, fundraising, partnerships, and policy dialogue between diverse stakeholders including governments, development partners, civil society, and communities.

Pinimidzai was on the gender specialist team that drafted the revised Gender Policy for Namibia. He is currently one of the focal gender specialists at GWPSA, ensuring that gender equality and social inclusion are integrated within the GEF-funded Buzi-Pungwe-Save (BUPUSA) basins and the GEF Limpopo project. He has led gender analysis assessments for international organizations such as the International Network on Bamboo and Ratan (INBAR).

“Achieving equality in the transboundary water sector and downstream water-dependent sectors requires men to actively unlearn deep-seated norms and power dynamics that sideline women. As a Male Champion, I am here to help break the norms and create safe spaces for equality and empowerment.”