Simon Thuo

With a background in civil engineering, water resources and utility management, Simon works on the nexus between water and food security; promoting sanitation and waste management as integral to IWRM.

Simon has 25 years of direct experience setting up and facilitating Water Resources and WASH networks in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Between 2003 and 2012, Simon was the Regional Coordinator for GWP Eastern Africa, establishing water partnerships and supporting countries in the Nile Basin and Greater Horn of Africa to prepare and implement sustainable water development programs to meet social and economic needs while reducing vulnerability to climate related disasters.

While advisor on USAID-funded water and food security in Rwanda from 2012, Simon formulated the 5-year Water Resources Development Program, justifying investments in water infrastructure and  institutional strengthening to underpin the country's ambitious Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II), linking population and economic growth to water storage, while connecting Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Resilience and WINE (water in the national economy) within the forward budget to ensure synergy and efficient use of financial and natural resources. He has continued to support further work on incentivising farmers to transform destructive agricultural practices to sustainable livelihoods creating and utilising new value chains.

His subsequent work on climate resilience in the Eastern Africa, IGAD and Nile countries, and enhancing investments through Public-Private -Partnerships have strengthened the ability of public institutions to manage adverse climate impacts while attracting blended finance.

Simon is currently engaged in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, on catchment and wetland restoration, catalysing stakeholder involvement in conservation and management while analysing development, humanitarian and climate risk screening through water resources development and strengthening cross-border cooperation for their transboundary waters. He is also leading teams on rangeland management to address challenges facing pastoralist communities in Sahel, Sahara and other African drylands. WASH for emergencies, refugees and internally displaced people. 

Simon is also a lead practitioner of the scenario analysis and development process, and has been training high level government officers and subnational authorities on the Water-Food-Energy nexus approaches to optimise use of nature based resources and the limited financial and human resources; and supporting transformation of the actions into the 5-years cycle national and local development plans. 

Simon has also developed the adaptation with co-benefits of mitigation for Kenya’s latest NDC, assisted Egypt assess water’s contribution in climate, national economic development, food security and disaster management, Ethiopia on assessing vulnerability of water supplies to extreme events, and coordinated Africa Minister’s of Water (AMCOW) Gender Mainstreaming Strategy involving multiple UN, bilateral agencies and African Union’s member states.