Building a Water Secure Future: A Catalogue of World Bank Group Knowledge Products

Product Overview

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) is a comprehensive approach to achieving universal, safely managed urban sanitation by embracing diverse technologies, strengthening governance, and focusing on service delivery rather than infrastructure alone. Unlike traditional models focused on centralized sewerage, CWIS supports a mix of technical solutions—onsite, sewered, centralized, and decentralized—tailored to the needs of rapidly growing cities and underserved populations. The emphasis is on service provision and enabling environments, ensuring that all urban residents, including the poor and marginalized, benefit from adequate sanitation, unlocking environmental and human health, dignity and opportunity for all.

Why This Matters

Many urban sanitation systems are struggling to keep pace with rapid urbanization and are further challenged by climate vulnerability, governance and funding constraints, leaving millions—especially the poor and those in informal and peri-urban areas—without safe sanitation. Conventional approaches often rely on costly centralized infrastructure that fails to fully reach vulnerable communities, leading to:

• Exclusion of vulnerable groups
• Environmental degradation
• Health risks from poor sanitation
• Institutional fragmentation
• Limited climate resilience

CWIS addresses these challenges by shifting the focus from infrastructure alone to inclusive service delivery and promoting inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable service models that cover the entire sanitation service chain, while fostering institutional reform and community engagement.

Key Highlights/Impact

• CWIS has shaped urban sanitation in 40+ countries, influencing over $6 billion in investments and reaching over 56.14 million people.

• CWIS approaches are mainstreamed in World Bank operations in multiple countries globally across all regions.

• The shift is from “infrastructure delivery” to “service delivery” - ensuring systems are maintained, affordable, and inclusive.

• CWIS projects contribute to jobs creation across the entire sanitation service chain - from construction and toilet installation to emptying, transportation, fecal sludge management, wastewater treatment, reuse, and resource recovery.

• CWIS projects contribute to climate and environmental resilience by supporting sustainable sanitation systems that manage waste safely, reduce pollution, and promote resource recovery and reuse

• The CWIS web hub (www.worldbank.org/cwis) offers tools, resources, and good practices for practitioners.

• Multiple global and regional knowledge events have served as capacity-building platforms, facilitating peer-to-peer learning exchanges and country-specific action plans.

• CWIS has elevated sanitation in climate adaptation and development agendas, informing national and regional strategies.

Key Contacts

• Sanyu Lutalo, Senior Water Specialist, slutalo@worldbank.org

• Alona Nesterova, Program Analyst, adaniuk@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The Water Utility Creditworthiness Course is a targeted training program designed to help water utilities and service providers improve their operational and financial management and become more attractive to commercial financiers. Delivered face-to-face, hybrid, or online, the course leads to certification and is suitable for utility managers, government officials, regulators, and other sector stakeholders.

The curriculum covers interactive modules, case studies, and peer learning. The course can be tailored to country or organizational needs and is available as a guided cohort or self-paced e-learning.

Why This Matters

Many water service providers in developing countries struggle to access commercial finance due to:

• Weak regulatory environments and governance

• Inefficient operations and high levels of non-revenue water

• Poor financial management and lack of long-term planning

• Over-reliance on government subsidies

• Limited understanding of commercial financing instruments

These challenges prevent utilities from recovering costs, investing in infrastructure, and expanding services. The course addresses these barriers by equipping participants with the knowledge and skills needed to improve financial performance and creditworthiness.

Key Highlights/Impact

• Global Reach: The course has reached participants from over 30 countries including recent deliveries in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Cambodia, The Caribbean, Mozambique and Angola. Feedback has been highly positive, with strong completion rates and engagement.

• Unlocking New Financing: Several utilities have accessed non-traditional financing (green bonds, commercial loans, blended finance) after completing the course.

• National Rollout: Some countries, such as Kenya, are integrating the course into their national capacity building programs. In Kenya, 33 water service providers are being supported to improve governance and credit ratings, with a goal of leveraging $8 million in commercial financing.

• Peer Learning: In Zambia, over 70 participants formed a WhatsApp group to complete the course together, sharing experiences and celebrating achievements at sector events.

• Sector Reform: The course supports broader sector reforms, including tariff adjustments, operational efficiency improvements, and regulatory strengthening. It aligns with the World Bank’s Maximizing Finance for Development agenda, helping utilities move beyond public funding to attract private investment. 

Key Contacts

• Jason Zhengrong Lu, Lead Water Specialist, zlu@worldbank.org

• Aileen Bolus Castro, Senior Water Specialist, acastro2@worldbank.org

Product Overview

WaterSAP (Water Sector Assessment Program) is a diagnostic methodology designed to analyze barriers and opportunities for private sector involvement in the water sector. The program helps government counterparts in developing countries to create strategic financing roadmaps, focusing on short-term actions to mobilize public and private funding, commercial finance and private sector expertise.

These roadmaps focus on removing barriers, mobilizing funding (including blended finance and Public Private Partnerships), and building capacity through technical assistance and training. WaterSAP also promotes collaboration by engaging stakeholders and aligning efforts with other financiers through multi-stakeholder platforms like those supported by the 2030 Water Resources Group.

WaterSAP supports the development of investment pipelines, identifies roles for private sector participation, and provides tailored recommendations to improve water infrastructure, management, and overall water security. 

Why This Matters

Many developing countries face insufficient private sector participation in their water sectors, resulting in underinvestment, limited innovation, and fiscal constraints. WaterSAP diagnoses the key barriers—such as regulatory gaps, lack of creditworthiness, and unclear market structures—and identifies opportunities to mobilize private capital, management, and expertise. By improving financial sustainability and access to private financing, WaterSAP aims to bridge the investment gap and support governments in boosting water security through private sector engagement. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Bangladesh: The WaterSAP diagnostic highlights private sector opportunities in urban water and sanitation, including performance-based contracts for service delivery and O&M (sewerage, fecal sludge, solid waste), and PPPs/PSPs for wastewater and industrial effluent treatment and reuse/recycling. It recommends establishing dedicated project preparation and financing facilities. These findings will inform two upcoming operations.

• Jordan: WaterSAP identifies barriers and opportunities for private sector engagement, and recommends reforms to improve financial sustainability, clarify institutional roles, and build a strategic project pipeline to attract investment and enhance efficiency. The WaterSAP diagnostic informed a policy note for decision makers which outlines urgent water scarcity, financial constraints, and the need for major reforms. These reforms will support a large-scale desalination Public-Private Partnership project to be supported by the World Bank Group.

• Uzbekistan: WaterSAP assessed macroeconomic trends, sector performance, and investment gaps in irrigation and Water Supply and Sanitation, highlighting rapid population growth, worsening water scarcity, and aging infrastructure. It identifies challenges in service quality, financial sustainability, and institutional capacity, and outlines opportunities for private sector participation through regulatory reforms, cost recovery, and public-private partnership capacity. The roadmap proposes infrastructure upgrades, digitalization, tariff reforms, and climate finance to attract investment and build resilience. Findings informed the Uzbekistan National Irrigation and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project and the regional Water Efficiency and Conservation MPA approved in FY25.

Key Contacts

• Jason Zhengrong Lu, Lead Water Specialist, zlu@worldbank.org

• Patricia Lopez, Senior Water Specialist, plopez@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The updated Guidelines for Economic Analysis of Water Projects provide a comprehensive methodology and recommended data sources for quantifying both market and non-market benefits of water sector investments. These guidelines ensure that economic analysis is conducted in a consistent, high-quality, and transparent manner across diverse water projects. The guidelines are organized into two main sections: (1) methodological issues—including climate uncertainty, nature-based solutions, and stakeholder analysis—and (2) evaluation approaches for specific water sector challenges, illustrated with case studies. 

Why This Matters

Water projects often deliver a wide range of benefits—some easily monetized (like increased water supply or reduced costs), others less tangible (such as improved health, ecosystem services, or climate resilience). Traditional financial analysis may overlook these broader impacts, leading to underinvestment or misallocation of resources. The guidelines address this gap by equipping investors and World Bank staff with tools to assess the full value of water investments, including under different climate scenarios and project effectiveness assumptions. This enables more informed decision-making, better prioritization of scarce resources, and stronger justification for interventions that deliver long-term social, environmental, and economic returns. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Capacity Building: Over 30 Task Team Leaders (TTLs) were trained during Water Week, and the guidelines were featured in major water events.

• Global Application: The guidelines have been used in economic analysis for a range of projects, including in South Africa, Lebanon, Nigeria, Bolivia and Yemen.

• Policy Influence: The guidelines have informed national-level assessments, such as Thailand’s government workshop on flood impacts and the Drought Risk Resilience Assessment report (DRRA), supporting evidence-based policy and investment planning.

• Integration with Climate and Resilience: The guidelines incorporate approaches for evaluating climate risks, nature-based solutions, and resilience, ensuring that water investments are robust under future uncertainty.

Key Contact

• Christian Borja-Vega, Senior Economist, cborjavega@worldbank.org

Product Overview

Scaling ReWater is a World Bank Group initiative to scale up the development of sustainable wastewater treatment, water reuse, bulk water, and desalination infrastructure in emerging economies. It is designed to unlock public and private finance through blended financing models. Scaling ReWater’s programmatic approach helps our public and private clients overcome constraints in project preparation—including by funding the preliminary assessment of potential projects—, lower the transaction costs of individually negotiated contracts, and reduce the perceived investment and sector risks. It brings together transaction advice, standardized tender documents, balanced project agreements, and World Bank Group financial products to increase finance for project development. 

Why This Matters

The cumulative impacts of population growth, urbanization, climate change, and industrialization are affecting the availability of the world’s water resources. Many countries are facing rising water stress and demand for freshwater—even as they confront increased discharges of contaminated water, impacting public health and the environment. Adequate sewerage and drainage systems, water treatment and reuse plants as well as desalination can help tackle these challenges. Treated wastewater is a reliable source of water that often requires lower investment costs and energy use than alternative sources such as inter-basin water transfers and is more resilient to climate shocks. Desalination, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly efficient and forms part of a broader shift toward “unconventional” water sources that can safeguard water security for communities and industries alike. Scaling ReWater helps turn these solutions into bankable projects for clients that are facing increasing water security challenges.

 Key Highlights/Impact

• The Scaling Rewater initiative has supported pre-feasibility studies, transaction advisory activities, scoping studies, legal and technical reviews, and market assessments in several client countries including South Africa, Senegal, Mexico, Chile, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia/ Herzegovina, to scale up PPPs and project finance investments in wastewater reuse and desalination.

• Through support from the scaling rewater initiative, the South African municipality of Ethekwini will be developing 2 greenfield wastewater treatment plants through a PPP program, to increase their wastewater treatment and water reuse capacity. 

Key Contacts

• Dan Vardi, IFC Global Water Lead, dvardi@ifc.org

• Anais Julienne, IFC Senior Investment Officer, ajulienne@ifc.org

• Nico Saporiti, IFC Senior Investment Officer, nsaporiti@ifc.org 10

Product Overview

With tailored investment, advisory solutions, and access to a global knowledge-sharing network, Utilities for Climate (U4C) is a comprehensive platform for water utilities in emerging markets, supporting their efforts to strengthen climate resilience and future-proof commercial water infrastructure. By fostering strategic partnerships through U4C, the platform helps utilities develop innovative solutions to address climate risks, improve service quality, and enhance sustainability. 

Why This Matters

Reliable access to clean water and sanitation is a cornerstone of sustainable development, job creation, economic growth—and a fundamental human right. Yet as of 2022, 2.2 billion people worldwide were still without access to safely managed drinking water, and 3.5 billion were without access to safely managed sanitation, which threatens human health, food security and economic development. Rising sea levels and changing weather patterns—with impacts largely felt through disruptions in the water cycle—compound this challenge. To ensure universal access to clean water and adapt to a warming world, countries, cities, and water utilities urgently need financing and innovative solutions.

Recognizing that public funding alone is insufficient, U4C works with utilities to identify, prioritize, and finance climate-resilient projects. Through tailored advisory solutions and access to a global knowledge network, U4C helps utilities develop innovative solutions to improve efficiency and service quality, address climate risks, digitize operations, and enhance sustainability. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Since its inception in 2021, U4C has enabled $2.1bn in commercial financing for water utilities across multiple regions supporting their water infrastructure investments.

• U4C has supported its network of 12 water utilities that serve more than 90m+ beneficiaries with tailored advisory services including -but not limited to- non-revenue water management, developing water resilience strategies, IT systems integration, technical reviews of WWTP designs, sludge treatment technology, etc.

• U4C provides access to a global network for knowledge exchange by organizing high level CEO workshops, technical deep dives, and webinars that foster peer-to-peer learning.

Project examples:

⁃ Sabesp- IFC provided and mobilized a series of loans to SABESP, Brazil’s largest water and sanitation service provider, to finance the Pinheiro’s River Clean-Up program and the Integra Tietê initiative. Totaling $1.1 billion, these investments aim to improve water quality, expand sewage collection and treatment, and enhance climate resilience in São Paulo. The projects will benefit over 3.8 million people by 2029, create jobs, reduce emissions, and support biodiversity. Additionally, IFC’s advisory services help SABESP reduce non-revenue water losses and develop sustainable sewage sludge management practices.

⁃ IZSU- IFC provided a local currency and sustainability-linked loan of $30 million to Izmir’s Water and Sewerage Administration (IZSU, Türkiye) for the Foça drinking water treatment plant. This project improved Izmir’s water supply network, benefiting 463,000 citizens and providing better-quality drinking water for 200,000 people. The loan also supported gender equality initiatives within IZSU and helped the city address climate resilience challenges. 

Key Contacts

• Dan Vardi, IFC Global Water Lead, dvardi@ifc.org

• Amit Chanan, IFC Senior Water Industry Specialist, achanan@ifc.org

Product Overview

The NRW-PBC course is a hands-on, face-to-face training program designed for pre-selected water utilities interested in exploring performance-based contracts to reduce non-revenue water (NRW). Prior to the workshop, participants are required to study the World Bank’s guide, The Use of Performance-Based Contracts for Non-Revenue Water Reduction, and complete a self-assessment tool developed by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). During the workshop, each utility receives individualized clinic sessions with expert trainers, based on their own NRW assessment. The outcome is a tailored roadmap for each utility, guiding the implementation of an NRW-PBC program that leverages private sector expertise and incentivizes measurable water loss reduction. 

Why This Matters

Globally, about 40% of water supplied in emerging and developing countries is lost or unaccounted for, due to leaks, theft, and meter inaccuracies. This high level of NRW undermines the financial viability and creditworthiness of utilities, limiting their ability to invest in infrastructure and expand services. Many utilities lack technical expertise, operational capacity, or capital to address NRW effectively. Performance-based contracts offer a solution by engaging private sector partners whose payments are tied to achieving specific, measurable reductions in water loss. This approach brings in specialized skills, technology, and financial incentives, enabling utilities to reduce losses, improve revenues, and build a foundation for sustainable service delivery. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Regional Delivery: In March 2025, the course was delivered to eight utilities in Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia, reflecting strong demand and regional potential for NRW management.

• Structured Preparation: Utilities completed a rigorous self-assessment and preparatory reading, ensuring that the workshop was highly targeted and actionable.

• Individualized Roadmaps: Each utility left the workshop with a customized implementation plan for an NRW-PBC program, ready to engage private sector partners and set performance targets.

• Significant Impact Potential: If the eight participating utilities reach the target of 25% NRW, the recovered water could supply 2 million people and generate an estimated US$48.5 million in additional revenue.

• Capacity Building: The course builds technical and managerial capacity, enabling utilities to design, procure, and oversee PBCs, and to monitor results effectively.

• Catalyzing Private Sector Participation: By creating a clear framework and incentives, the course helps utilities mobilize private sector expertise and investment, accelerating progress on water loss reduction. 

Key Contact

• Jason Zhengrong Lu, Lead Water Specialist, zlu@worldbank.org

• Aileen Bolus Castro, Senior Water Specialist, acastro2@worldbank.org

Product Overview

Digital Water is a flagship knowledge and technical assistance platform that aims to accelerate the digital transformation of water supply and sanitation utilities worldwide, supporting and enabling them throughout their journey to deploy digital solutions effectively. The platform goes beyond technology adoption, addressing critical enablers such as governance, human resources, skills development, cybersecurity, and organizational culture. It provides a suite of services—including digital maturity assessments, tailored training programs, and practical knowledge products—to help utilities modernize, optimize operations, and deliver better services to communities.

Why This Matters

Globally, many water utilities—especially in low- and middle-income countries—face significant barriers to digitalization. These include:

• Reliance on manual processes and paper-based systems.

• Lack of integrated data systems for monitoring, analysis, and decision-making.

• Limited capacity and expertise in digital technologies among utility staff.

• Difficulty in detecting leaks, managing non-revenue water (NRW), and optimizing asset management.

• Challenges in providing real-time information to stakeholders and customers.

These gaps hinder utilities’ ability to respond to growing water demand, climate change pressures, and the need for resilient, inclusive service delivery.

Key Highlights/Impact

Since its launch, Digital Water has made significant strides in advancing digital transformation across multiple regions:

• Global Reach: Supported utilities in Latin America & Caribbean , Sub Saharan Africa, East Asia & Pacific , South Asia , and Europe & Central Asia . The support spans utilities, municipalities and regulators in Peru, Argentina, Guinea, DRC, Cambodia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, among others.

• Assessments and Roadmaps: Conducted digital maturity assessments for dozens of utilities, leading to the development of tailored digitalization roadmaps.

• Training Programs: Delivered high-impact training sessions in Spain and Korea, equipping hundreds of utility professionals with digital skills.

• Practical Tools: Developed and disseminated the “Digital Recipe for NRW,” a toolkit now used by utilities to systematically address water losses using digital technologies.

• Sectoral Change: Enabled utilities to move from manual, paper-based operations to systematized digital processes, with some reaching transformational levels—where advanced analytics and automation drive decision-making. 

Key Contacts

• Jean-Martin Brault, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, jbrault@worldbank.org

• Jihoon Lee, Water Specialist, jlee66@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The PIR workstream is an initiative designed to strengthen governance in the Water Supply and Sanitation sector. It focuses on improving sector policies, institutional arrangements, and regulatory frameworks, providing countries with diagnostic tools and technical assistance to identify challenges and implement effective reforms. PIR is recognized as a critical enabler for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to water and sanitation, especially as countries face increasing pressures from climate change, urbanization, and public health crises. 

Why This Matters

PIR aims to resolve persistent issues of weak governance, unclear policies, and ineffective regulatory systems that undermine water sector performance and service delivery. These challenges often result in poor service quality, inequitable access, and unsustainable infrastructure investments. By focusing on the foundational elements of governance, PIR helps countries move beyond ad hoc solutions and toward systemic, sustainable improvements. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Strengthening PIR lays the foundation for water security. By improving policies, institutions, and regulation, countries can create an environment where utilities become financially sound, services remain reliable, and investments flow. PIR doesn’t work in isolation—it complements tools like Utility of the Future and WaterSAP, and leverages a range of World Bank instruments such as Investment Project Financing, Program-for-Results, Development Policy Operations, and Multiphase Programmatic Approaches. Together, these approaches help governments design and implement reforms that are practical, sustainable, and tailored to their context.

• Legal and Policy Frameworks: Brazil’s 2020 law harmonized regulation, set 2033 targets of 99% water and 90% sanitation coverage, and introduced new concession rules to attract investment. Zambia’s 1997 WSS Act expanded sanitation mandates and empowered NWASCO with rulemaking authority. Cambodia established a regulatory model ensuring predictable tariffs for private operators, while Mozambique’s 2024 law clarified sector roles, asset ownership, and transfer processes.

• Economic and Tariff Regulation: Kenya integrated pro-poor KPIs into tariff reviews through the Water Services Regulatory Board. In Kiribati, tariff reforms were designed to balance affordability with the sustainability of operations and maintenance. Colombia improved both service quality and cost recovery through 25 years of incremental tariff formula adjustments. In Mozambique, the regulator AURA mandated annual tariff reviews embedded as disbursement-linked indicators, linking financial viability to predictable regulatory processes.

• Institutional Reform and Capacity: Uruguay enhanced its regulator’s independence after years of limited autonomy. Niger adopted an affermage model that separated public ownership of assets from private operations, improving efficiency. Mozambique created Regional Operating Companies to consolidate fragmented utilities, professionalize management, and prepare for public-private partnership frameworks.

• Intergovernmental and Financing Frameworks: Nigeria developed State PIR Action Plans that linked disbursements to reform milestones through a Program-for-Results approach. South Africa used Equitable Share transfers to support the provision of free basic services. In Kenya, the post-2016 Water Act revealed tensions between county and national institutions, showing the risks of unclear mandates. Mozambique introduced a new sector architecture that clarified roles across central agencies, utilities, and regulators, while linking fiscal and institutional reforms through disbursement-linked indicators.

• Resilience and Adaptive Regulation: Cape Town extended water availability during the Day Zero crisis through adaptive governance. In the Sava and Drina River Corridors (Western Balkans), PIR interventions strengthened collaborative governance, labor management, and resource efficiency, while advancing flood resilience through cross-border management. In MENA, wastewater reuse served as both a resilience measure and financing opportunity. Mozambique embedded resilience through climate-related disbursement-linked indicators, basin models, and water quality monitoring.

• Diagnostics and Reform Roadmaps: In Somalia, a PIR diagnostic exposed fragmented mandates and shaped a reform roadmap. In Zambia, a sanitation “fishbone” analysis identified root causes and guided reforms. In Mozambique, a PIR diagnostic informed the Urban Water Security Program, embedding institutional, regulatory, and financial reforms as results-based milestones. 

Key Contacts

• Claire Chase, Senior Water Economist, cchase@worldbank.org

• Christiana Reichsthaler, ET Consultant, creichsthaler@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The Utility of the Future (UoF) is an initiative that helps water and sanitation utilities become more efficient, resilient, and sustainable. The program guides utilities in building performance roadmaps — practical plans to strengthen operations, finances, human resources, and governance. Through a structured methodology and hands-on tools, utilities identify gaps, design improvements, and monitor progress in areas such as non-revenue water, energy efficiency, digitalization, environmental management, and gender inclusion. Building on this experience, the World Bank and SECO launched the Utility of the Future Center of Excellence in the Western Balkans — a regional platform that supports 30 utilities (2025–2029) in improving performance, sharing knowledge, and driving innovation across the sector. 

Why This Matters

Many water and sanitation utilities face low performance, weak capacity, and limited innovation, leading to unreliable services and poor adaptation to climate and urban challenges.

UoF helps them improve efficiency and plan strategically to deliver sustainable services.

Key Highlights/Impact

• Standardized Methodology: UoF follows a step-by-step process — a 360° diagnostic of 150+ processes, a 100-day action plan for quick wins, and a five-year strategic vision. This helps utilities identify gaps, set priorities, and sustain improvement.

Example: In Emfuleni, South Africa, UoF is guiding the transition from municipal management to an independent utility with Rand Water Services, building a foundation for efficient, sustainable operations.

• Global Reach: Implemented in 100+ utilities across 40+ countries, UoF has proven adaptable and scalable.

Example: In Zambia, 11 utilities are improving efficiency and reducing non-revenue water as part of a nationwide reform supported by the World Bank and government.

• Human-Centered Approach: UoF puts people at the core, empowering staff to lead and sustain change.

Example: In the Western Balkans, 15 utilities across 6 countries engaged 160+ staff in co-designing action plans that now drive their own transformation.

• Peer Learning and Innovation: Through workshops, exchanges, and global challenges, UoF fosters shared learning and innovation.

Example: The UoF Center of Excellence in the Western Balkans connects utilities, drives innovation, and offers performance-based grants for quick wins and strategic investments.

• Replication and Scaling: With open-access tools and a franchise-style model, UoF can be adopted by local institutions.

Example: In the Philippines, the Department of the Interior and Local Government now applies UoF independently to expand reform nationwide. 

Key Contacts

• Camilo Lombana Cordoba, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation (clombanacordoba@worldbank.org)

• Federico Perez Penalosa, Water Supply and Sanitation Consultant (fperezpenalosa@worldbank.org)

• UoF email: uof@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The WASH in Healthcare Facilities and Schools initiative aims to integrate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services into schools and healthcare facilities, creating safer learning environments and improving the quality of healthcare. The program provides technical support and knowledge generation, while enabling cross-sectoral collaboration and enhancing visibility and impact of these investments within Bank-financed projects.

Why This Matters

Many schools and healthcare facilities lack adequate WASH services, which undermines public health, safety, and dignity. This gap increases the risk of disease transmission, affects learning outcomes, and compromises the quality of care—especially for vulnerable populations such as children, women, and people with disabilities. 

Key Highlights/Impact

•Comprehensive Improvements to Infrastructure and Service Delivery:

The initiative has supported construction, rehabilitation, and design of WASH infrastructure in schools and healthcare facilities. It has also supported planning, standards development, and procurement strategies for WASH services.

• In Angola: Baseline assessment of 10,000 schools, development of national service standards, rehabilitation of 7 pilot schools, and construction and tendering of WASH infrastructure in 56 new schools

• In São Tomé and Príncipe: Technical assistance enabled school design development, rehabilitation and supervision of 7 schools, ongoing work in 6 schools, tenders for 4 more, and menstrual hygiene support including distribution of 1,000 packages to girls.

• In Kenya: Baseline assessments covered 19 counties, reaching 10,935 schools and 2,166 healthcare facilities, with ongoing support for WASH standards, designs, and costings to improve infrastructure and service delivery.

• In Democratic Republic of Congo: Toolkit adaptations supported design and tender preparation for WASH infrastructure in 4 provinces, with construction in 98 schools and 109 healthcare centers expected to begin in FY26 and finalized standard designs ready for provincial adaptation.

• In Nigeria: Support included the development of management models for WASH in health facilities and schools, and ongoing work to develop standard designs for WASH in healthcare facilities.

• Fostering Collaboration, Partnerships and Innovation:

• The initiative maintains a Community of Practice to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration and knowledge sharing on WASH in institutional settings, particularly schools and healthcare facilities.

• A quarterly newsletter, shared with over 180 staff, provides thematic updates and spotlights global and operational insights on topics ranging from sustainable management models, assessments, and cholera prevention.

• The initiative enables the World Bank to contribute to global coordination efforts through its membership on the WHO-UNICEF Global Strategic Leaders Network and hosted the second meeting of the Global Strategic Leaders Network on the topic of financing and investment readiness. 

Key Contacts

• Claire Chase, Senior Water Economist, cchase@worldbank.org

• Ruth Kennedy-Walker, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, rkennedywalker@worldbank.org

Product Overview

The Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) initiative integrates circular economy principles into water sector operations, to make the sector more financially sustainable, efficient and resilient. WICER helps countries and utilities shift from linear “take-make-waste” models to circular approaches that maximize resource efficiency, promote reuse and recovery, regenerate natural systems, harness renewable energy and build resilience against shocks. Through technical and operational assistance, assessment tools, knowledge products, and capacity-building, WICER supports the design and implementation of sustainable water solutions in World Bank-financed projects. 

Why This Matters

There is a growing demand from countries and clients to move away from traditional linear water models — which fail to maximize resource efficiency, financial sustainability and resilience — towards circular approaches that capture the full value of water. WICER responds to this demand by providing a comprehensive framework that helps countries identify and apply circular economy principles, creating new revenue streams, lowering operational costs, reducing waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, while building more resilient and sustainable water services. 

Key Highlights/Impact

• Technical and Operational Support: In FY25, WICER provided on-demand operational support and technical assistance to integrate circular economy principles into policy, planning, and strategy dialogues, as well as into project design and implementation in more than 10 countries, including Botswana, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.

• Client Capacity Building: Responding to client demand, WICER has delivered a variety of trainings on how to implement circular economy principles in the water sector. This fiscal year, it included two client capacity building workshops with 50+ participants from across regions, combining technical sessions, site visits, and peer exchange. WICER also contributed to the Singapore Water Center’s in-person training on wastewater reuse. At the country level, WICER has delivered tailored workshops with governments and key stakeholders to identify circular solutions, such as in Botswana and South Africa.

• Knowledge, Tools and Partnerships: A new WICER website (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/wicer) was launched to consolidate resources, including the main report, training materials, templates, case studies, and guidelines.

The Quick Assessment Tool (www.wicer-tool.com) has been used in stakeholder workshops to introduce circular economy concepts and rapidly evaluate project projects, helping identify potential solutions and opportunities for improvement.

WICER has also strengthened strategic partnerships to amplify impact and leverage expertise, working with international organizations, academia, and utilities. 

Key Contacts

• Diego Juan Rodriguez, Lead Economist, drodriguez1@worldbank.org

• Carlo Alberto Amadei, Water Specialist, camadei@worldbank.org

• Anna Delgado Martin, Consultant, adelgado@worldbank.org