NETWAS is a capacity building and information network for Africa focusing on water, sanitation and environment sector. It is comprised of resource centres in Eastern Africa implementing capacity building activities on training of professionals, applied research, networking and information sharing, advocacy, advisory and consultancy services. The centres consist of a regional center NETWAS International and two national centers - NETWAS Uganda and NETWAS Tanzania. NETWAS International which is situated in Nairobi, Kenya also plays the double role of NETWAS Kenya and the regional office.

NETWAS International was established in 1986 in Kenya as a regional water and sanitation center for Eastern Africa. It is part of the global International Training Network for Water and Waste Management, also known as the ITN. ITN is a program that was established through the initiative of the UNDP-World Bank as a contribution to the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade of the 1980s. This Program's mandate was to establish several regional centers in Africa, Asia and Latin America to support capacity building activities including information dissemination. There are currently a number of active centers in Asia (Philippines, India and Bangladesh) and a strong ITN Africa network.

NETWAS collaborates with a number of international organizations such as IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, Water and Sanitation Program (Africa) of the UNDP-World Bank, SANDEC Department for Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries at the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, SKAT Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology and Management, and SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
NETWAS International is a founder member of the ITN Africa Network and the Streams of Knowledge.

NETWAS Uganda was established in Uganda in 1996 as a non-profit organization. It has an autonomous status and acts as a Country Branch of NETWAS International. The offices of NETWAS Uganda are located at Plot No. 1, Nofolk Gardens, Lower Kyambogo, Kampala.

Network for Water and Sanitation Tanzania (NETWAS Tanzania) was established in Tanzania as a non-profit organization. NETWAS Tanzania is an autonomous organization affiliated to NETWAS International. .

NETWAS is committed to improving the living conditions of the people in Africa particularly the poor, through networking, information dissemination, training, applied research and community development in water and sanitation, using innovative, participatory and gender sensitive approaches

NETWAS is a learning and training network, whose diverse range of expertise in social, health, engineering, management and information fields is blend together for professional service delivery in collaboration with regional and international sector institutions.

To be resource network for capacity building in water and sanitation, water resources and environmentally sound and sustainable development and management in Africa.

NETWAS products and services are diverse and are aimed at the building of partnership with sector actors both in and outside the region. The programs lay emphasis on the provision of services which directly or indirectly enhance the living standards of low income communities. NETWAS services include the following:

• Training
• Networking and Information Service
• Research and Community Development
• Advisory and Consultancy Service

NETWAS has a multidisciplinary team of highly professional staff. The diverse disciplines include water and sanitation engineers, socio scientists, public health officers, economists and environmentalists. This broad spectrum of professions enables NETWAS to undertake assignments requiring multidciplinary team of professionals.