The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was founded in 1999 as an intergovernmental organization of 10 Nile Basin countries: Burundi, D.R. Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, with Eritrea serving as an observer (Knaepen & Byiers, 2017). As a transitional mechanism, NBI promotes cooperation in the management and development of the Nile’s common water resources. The NBI aims to achieve sustainable socioeconomic growth, equitable water usage, and conflict resolution through collaborative efforts in hydropower, agriculture, watershed management, and fisheries (Knaepen & Byiers, 2017; Mohammed Jungudo, 2018). Fostering cooperation, improving knowledge-based Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), and assisting with water-related project investment are among the core functions (Mohammed Jungudo, 2018; NBI, 2024). At the highest decision-making level, the NBI structure includes the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-COM), the Nile Technical Advisory Committee (Nile-TAC), and the Nile Secretariat (Nile-SEC), which is based in Entebbe, Uganda (NBI, 2024). Two subsidiary programs, the Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Programme (ENSAP) and the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP), define regional investment and capacity-building activities (Knaepen & Byiers, 2017; World Bank Group, 2019). While Egypt and Sudan initially suspended participation owing to Comprehensive Framework Agreement (CFA) negotiations, Sudan returned in 2013, while Egypt currently participates selectively (Knaepen & Byiers, 2017). The NBI has successfully brought Nile countries together, establishing regional capacity for cooperative water resource management and launching projects such as the Uganda-DR Congo power transmission line and the Nile Equatorial Lakes water resource development project (Mohammed Jungudo, 2018; NBI, 2024). However, unpaid contributions from member states and decreasing donor funds pose a threat to the initiative’s long-term project sustainability (Knaepen & Byiers, 2017; Mohammed Jungudo, 2018).