Declaration endorsed by 14 African countries sets out a common agenda to strengthen water security, expand investment, and advance regional cooperation.

N’DJAMENA, July 17, 2026 - 14 African countries and 6 regional organizations signed yesterday the N'Djamena Declaration on Water at the conclusion of the African Water Forum: From Vision to Action, reaffirming a shared commitment to place water security at the center of the continent's economic transformation, resilience, and sustainable development agenda. The declaration provides a framework for accelerating action through stronger institutions, increased investment, enhanced regional cooperation, and greater private sector engagement. It reflects the core principles of Water Forward, the World Bank Group and partners’ effort to help countries strengthen water security as a foundation for jobs, growth, and resilience.

Participants committed to coordinate action around four priority areas: ensuring water for people, strengthening water security for food systems, protecting water resources and ecosystems, and leveraging water as a driver of jobs, resilient cities, and shared prosperity. Signatories also committed to advancing National Water Compacts, mobilizing financing for priority investments, and strengthening cooperation on shared water resources and river basins. Chad, The Gambia, Guinea and Togo launched their National Water Compacts during the Forum.

As a flagship investment under Chad's National Water Compact, the Chad Water Security and Resilience Project will help expand access to essential water and sanitation services, improve livelihoods, and help vulnerable communities better withstand climate-related shocks. The project was signed during the Forum and is supported by US$160 million in financing. The Forum also marked the signing of US$50 million in additional financing for the Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support Project II (PRAPS II), which will help pastoral communities strengthen livelihoods, improve access to water and livestock services, and better manage natural resources in a changing climate.

H.E. Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad, said: "The N'Djamena Declaration marks the beginning of an unprecedented collective momentum on water that Africa is leading alongside its partners. Water security is an essential condition for development: without it, jobs, food systems, people's health, and resilience to climate shocks cannot be sustained. Home to 30 million people across five countries, the Lake Chad Basin is a reflection of what we need to preserve and restore together. This mobilization must now be translated into concrete actions to give our commitments the strength they deserve."

Convened by the Government of Chad and the World Bank Group, the African Water Forum brought together senior policymakers, regional institutions, development partners, private investors, researchers, women’s organizations, and youth representatives to advance implementation of Water Forward initiative through practical solutions to one of Africa’s most pressing development challenges. The forum focused on translating commitments into implementation through policy reforms, stronger institutions, innovative financing approaches, and enhanced accountability for results.

“Africa's aspirations for jobs, food security, resilience, and shared prosperity depend on getting the fundamentals right. And few fundamentals matter more than water,” said Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations. “Water helps people thrive, economies grow, and communities withstand shocks. Every drop of water put to productive use is a job supported, a harvest secured, and a business enabled.”

Participants underscored that achieving Africa’s development ambitions—including creating jobs, strengthening food systems, improving health outcomes, and building resilience to climate and economic shocks—will require sustained investment and stronger cooperation around water resources.

Water Forward is a new global coalition that brings together governments, multilateral development banks, the private sector and philanthropies around a shared goal: to deliver water security for over one billion people by 2030. Working across three pillars – Water for People, Water for Food and Water for Planet – it aims to make water systems investable, sustainable and capable of supporting long-term growth and prosperity. Water Forward aligns partners behind government-led Water Compacts — with each contributing its comparative advantage, whether financing, reforms or delivery. This approach enables action and results at a scale no single partner could achieve alone.

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