Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water lake in the world and the largest lake in Africa. The Lake is shared between Kenya (6 percent), Tanzania (51 percent) and Uganda (43 percent). The Lake catchement provides the livelihood of about one third of the combined populations in the three countries or about 30 million people. It is estimated that 50 percent of the lake basin population lives below the poverty line.

Rapidly growing urban centers in the Lake Victoria basin are playing an increasingly important role in the economic development of the region. Most of the secondary towns are experiencing unplanned growth and this is negatively affecting basic infrastructure, living conditions, the environment and the fragile ecosystem of the lake.

UN-HABITAT in association with the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is currently implementing a major initiative to address the water and sanitation needs of the people, particularly the poor, in the secondary towns around Lake Victoria. The Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative (LVWATSAN) has a clear pro-poor focus, and is intended to generate desirable outcomes that would have a lasting effect on the poor.

These outcomes include improved access to water and sanitation services in the project areas, functional and gender focused arrangements for sustainably managing and monitoring the rehabilitated systems, institutionalised capacity building programmes to regularly update the capacity of stakeholders, and a contribution to the reduction in pollutant loads entering into the Lake Victoria. It is envisaged that these outcomes, within a reformed environment, would lead to improved health status and productivity of the population in the secondary towns participating in the programme.

The Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative was launched by Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka at the 2004 Stockholm Water Week at a special session. She was joined by Edward Lowassa, Tanzanian Minister of Water and Livestock Development, Martha Karua, Kenyan Minister for Water Resources and Maria Mutagamba, Ugandan Minister of State for Water Resources.