Blue Communities Africa recognised and celebrated two new Blue Communities in January 2026: Merina Dakhar and Keur Mor Ndiaye, both located in Senegal. Merina Dakhar is approximately 130 kilometres from Dakar, while Keur Mor Ndiaye is about 15 kilometres from the capital city.
The two communities demonstrated strong commitment to the Blue Communities principles, meeting the threshold required for official recognition. To qualify as a Blue Community, a community must score at least three out of five key criteria established by Blue Communities Africa. Merina Dakhar and Keur Mor Ndiaye recorded strong performance in four of the five indicators, with plans to address the remaining criterion.
The Blue Communities principles include:
- Recognition of water as a common good and a fundamental human right
- Public declaration against water privatisation
- Gradual phasing out of plastic-packaged water
- Community self-management of water systems
- Promotion of environmental justice
Both communities performed strongly across all indicators except the gradual phasing out of plastic-packaged water, which they have committed to achieving in the near future.
Speaking from the grounds of the 2026 World Water Conference Preparatory Meeting in Dakar on 26 January 2026, Rev. Kolade Fadahunsi, Chairperson of Blue Communities Africa, expressed deep satisfaction while presenting the certificate of recognition to a representative of the Merina Dakhar community. He welcomed the addition of the two communities to the Blue Communities movement in Africa, noting the challenges many communities face in translating the human right to water into lived reality and universal access.
Rev. Fadahunsi highlighted the inspiring resistance of both communities against the privatisation of their water systems by an international private company, a struggle that resulted in the restoration of water services under democratic, community-led management. He expressed hope that other communities across Africa would learn from their example.
Also present at the ceremony were Ige Aderonke, Chairperson of the Africa Water Justice Network (AWJN) Steering Committee; Meera Karunananthan, Chairperson of the Blue Planet Project; Disnesh Desuza, Coordinator of the Ecumenical Water Network; Moustapha Bssirou Gueye, a representative of Merina Dakhar and Leonard Shang-Quartey, Coordinator of the Africa Water Justice Network.
On 30 January 2026, Leonard Shang-Quartey and Meera Karunananthan travelled to Merina Dakhar to engage directly with community members, before proceeding to Keur Mor Ndiaye later the same day to celebrate with residents and formally present their certificate of recognition.