FAQ: Water Forward
Last updated: September 2026
Water Security and the Global Water Crisis
Today, 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water and 3.4 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. 4 billion people face severe water stress for at least one month each year.
Water insecurity is not only a question of insufficient water supplies. Billions of people are also vulnerable to floods, droughts, and deteriorating water quality. An estimated 400,000 children under five die each year from unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene. The degradation of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers is placing additional pressure on already stressed water systems.
The burden falls hardest on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where rapid population growth, climate pressures, underinvestment, and weak service delivery have left many communities without reliable access to safe water and sanitation. Water-related risks are also growing worldwide as natural water storage in soils, wetlands, and aquifers continues to decline and pollution increasingly threatens rivers, lakes, and groundwater resources.
Progress has been made over recent decades, but the world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for all by 2030. Achieving SDG 6 will require substantially higher levels of investment, stronger institutions, better management of water resources, and greater resilience to floods, droughts, and water quality threats.
(Sources: World Bank Global Water Strategy, October 2025; UN SDG 6)
The global water crisis is driven by a combination of declining water availability, worsening floods and droughts, deteriorating water quality, and the degradation of ecosystems that sustain water resources.
Key facts on the scale of the crisis:
- The world loses an estimated 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater stored in land systems every year — enough to meet the annual water needs of 280 million people. (Source: World Bank, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, November 2025, drawing on two decades of satellite data)
- Natural water storage in soils, wetlands, and aquifers has declined by an estimated 27 trillion cubic meters over the past 50 years, reducing a critical buffer against climate shocks.
- An estimated 2 million tons of waste are discharged into rivers, lakes, and aquifers every day, threatening water quality and human health.
- The abundance of freshwater species has declined by 83 percent since 1970.
Three forces are driving these trends:
- Climate change is intensifying and accelerating hydrological extremes, making droughts and floods more frequent and severe.
- Unsustainable water and land use practices — including poor pricing policies, deforestation, wetland degradation, excessive irrigation, pollution, and a shift toward more water-intensive crops — are compounding the impacts of climate change.
- Population growth, urbanization, and rising demand are increasing pressure on already stressed water systems. Global water consumption rose by 25% between 2000 and 2019, with roughly one-third of that increase occurring in areas already facing drying conditions.
The challenge facing countries today is not only water scarcity, but also managing water-related risks, protecting water quality, and safeguarding the ecosystems that sustain water resources.
(Source: World Bank, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, November 2025)
Water security is defined as "the availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments, and economies." (Grey and Sadoff, 2007, as cited in the World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan.)
Water security encompasses access to sufficient, reliable, and safe water, while reducing exposure to floods and droughts and protecting the rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers that sustain people, economies, and ecosystems.
Why water security matters:
- Water-dependent sectors — including agriculture, energy, industry, and services — support an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide.
- Investments in water and sanitation in Africa generate economic returns of approximately $7 for every dollar invested, according to research cited by the World Bank.
- Access to clean water and sanitation improves public health and enables more people — especially women and youth — to participate in the workforce and economic life.
- When water systems fail, food production falters, health systems are compromised, energy generation is disrupted, and private investment stalls.
Water security is the explicit goal of Water Forward and of the World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan for 2025 to 2030.
(Sources: World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan, 2025; World Bank Global Water Strategy, October 2025)
Groundwater is freshwater stored in underground rock formations called aquifers. Groundwater accounts for roughly 30% of the world's freshwater and is the primary water source for billions of people — used for drinking, irrigation, and industrial processes. In many regions, groundwater is the only reliable water source during droughts.
In some regions, groundwater is being extracted far faster than rainfall and river flows can replenish it. The main drivers are:
- Agriculture, which consumes large volumes of groundwater for irrigation.
- Urbanization and population growth, which add pressure from cities and industry.
- Climate change, which reduces the precipitation and snowmelt that recharge aquifers.
Natural water storage in soils, wetlands, and aquifers has decreased by 27 trillion cubic meters over the last 50 years — a critical buffer against climate shocks that is steadily eroding.
The most comprehensive global assessment of these trends is the World Bank's The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change.
(Source: World Bank, The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change, 2023)
The regions under the greatest pressure for groundwater depletion or aquifer depletion are the Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia:
- Over 80% of large cities in these regions rely predominantly on groundwater.
- An estimated 92% of transboundary aquifers in these regions show signs of depletion.
- India — the world's largest user of groundwater — faces an acute challenge: approximately 17% of India's groundwater blocks are already overexploited, with the north-western, western, and southern peninsular regions particularly affected.
These findings are detailed in the World Bank's The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change, the most comprehensive global assessment of groundwater economics to date.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the picture is different. As the World Bank blog Groundwater is Key to Protecting Global Ecosystems explains, vast untapped groundwater reserves exist but remain largely undeveloped, representing a significant opportunity to reduce poverty for an estimated 250 million people if managed sustainably.
(Sources: World Bank, The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change, 2023; World Bank blog, Groundwater is Key to Protecting Global Ecosystems, October 2024)
Aquifer recovery depends on the nature and cause of the depletion.
Where the primary cause is overextraction, recovery requires:
- Reducing withdrawals to below natural recharge rates.
- In some cases, actively directing water back underground through managed aquifer recharge — a strategy that stores excess surface water, stormwater, or treated wastewater in aquifers during wet periods for use during droughts.
- Nature-based solutions — restoring forests, wetlands, and floodplains that allow rainfall to filter back into the ground — are identified in the World Bank's The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change as preferable to purely engineered approaches. Engineered approaches face persistent challenges including legal uncertainty, fragmented regulation, and unclear groundwater rights.
Where aquifers are contaminated — by agricultural runoff, industrial discharge, or saltwater intrusion from overpumping in coastal areas — the challenge is significantly greater. The World Bank's Seeing the Invisible: A Strategic Report on Groundwater Quality finds that remediation of contaminated groundwater is often slow and costly. Preventing contamination through monitoring, land zoning, and strong regulatory frameworks is the most effective strategy.
Both reports point to the same conclusion: strong groundwater governance — covering allocation, monitoring, pricing, and cross-sectoral coordination — is the foundation of any credible approach to protecting aquifers before depletion or contamination becomes irreversible.
(Sources: World Bank, The Hidden Wealth of Nations: Groundwater in Times of Climate Change, 2023; World Bank, Seeing the Invisible: A Strategic Report on Groundwater Quality, 2022)
Water insecurity carries a direct and measurable economic cost.
Key figures:
- Water-dependent sectors — including agriculture, energy, industry, and services — support an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, droughts leave between 600,000 and 900,000 people without jobs each year. Cape Town's 2018 drought alone wiped out 20,000 agricultural jobs.
- Urban flood losses could reach $50 billion annually by mid-century as cities expand into flood-prone areas and climate change intensifies extreme rainfall events. (Source: World Bank, Cities Under Water, April 2026)
- Meeting the water and sanitation Sustainable Development Goals requires $131 to $140 billion annually — nearly double current public funding levels.
The returns on water investment are strong:
- On average, investments in water and sanitation in Africa generate economic returns of approximately $7 for every dollar invested, according to research cited by the World Bank.
(Sources: World Bank, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, November 2025; World Bank, Cities Under Water, April 2026)
Water security is a foundation for economic development because water security affects the availability, quality, and reliability of water, as well as exposure to floods and droughts. Countries cannot sustain growth, create jobs, strengthen food security, improve health outcomes, or build climate resilience without secure water systems.
The World Bank's Water for Shared Prosperity report shows that water security drives inclusive growth by boosting agricultural productivity, enabling industrial output, supporting energy generation, and attracting investment.
Water security also drives human development:
- In communities without piped water, women are responsible for an estimated 80% of household water collection, reducing the time available for education, paid work, and economic participation.
- Access to safe water and sanitation in schools helps girls stay in school.
- Health facilities without reliable water cannot provide safe care.
Beyond supporting growth and human capital, water security helps countries manage climate and disaster risks. Reliable water systems, healthy watersheds, and resilient infrastructure reduce vulnerability to floods, droughts, and water quality threats that can undermine development gains and impose significant economic costs.
(Sources: World Bank, Water for Shared Prosperity, 2024; World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan, 2025)
The world is not facing a global water shortage in absolute terms. Water continuously circulates through the hydrological cycle. The challenge is that freshwater is becoming less available, less reliable, and less predictable across many parts of the planet.
The World Bank's Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future report, drawing on two decades of satellite data, finds that the world loses an estimated 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater stored in land systems each year — enough to meet the annual water needs of 280 million people. This decline reflects shrinking natural water storage in soils, wetlands, aquifers, and surface waters, making water supplies less resilient to growing demand and climate shocks.
Since 2000, more than 80 major cities — including Cape Town, São Paulo, and Chennai — have experienced severe water crises. The trend reflects increasing pressure on freshwater systems from rising demand, urbanization, climate change, and declining natural water storage.
At the same time, water scarcity is not only about physical shortage. In many places, water exists but governance, infrastructure, or financing failures prevent it from reaching the people who need it. Freshwater resources are also increasingly affected by pollution, ecosystem degradation, and more frequent floods and droughts, making water harder to manage and less reliable for people, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems.
Water Forward was created to accelerate the investment, reforms, and partnerships needed to strengthen water security, improve water management, and build resilience to these growing pressures.
(Sources: World Bank, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, November 2025; World Bank, Cities Under Water, April 2026)
A "Day Zero" water crisis refers to the point at which a city's municipal water supply is effectively exhausted and taps run dry.
The term gained global attention during Cape Town's 2018 drought, when Cape Town came within weeks of shutting off water to residents. The crisis was averted through emergency rationing and behavioral change, but not before 20,000 agricultural jobs were lost.
Cape Town is not an isolated case. Since 2000, over 80 major cities — including São Paulo and Chennai — have experienced extreme water crises. The World Bank's Cities Under Water report documents how integrated infrastructure investment, risk-based planning, and stronger governance can reduce urban water risk before crises become irreversible.
(Source: World Bank, Cities Under Water, April 2026)
About Water Forward
Water Forward is a global coalition launched in April 2026. Water Forward brings together governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs) and philanthropies around a shared objective: to deliver water security for over one billion people by 2030.
Water Forward was created because the scale of the global water crisis has outpaced what any single institution or government can address alone. Today, 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water and 3.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation. Water-dependent sectors, including agriculture, energy, industry, and services, support an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide. Yet for billions of people, inadequate or nonexistent water systems remain a barrier to growth and development — limiting productivity, weakening food and energy security, undermining public health, and holding back private investment.
In many countries, unclear policies, weak regulations, and financially unsustainable utilities have slowed progress and deterred investment. Water Forward addresses these challenges by helping developing countries build stronger, more reliable water systems through nationally owned Water Compacts: government-led plans designed to strengthen institutions, improve financial performance, and develop investment-ready projects.
Water Forward is a response to the global water crisis in its full dimensions:
- 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water.
- 3.4 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.
- 4 billion people experience severe water stress for at least one month each year.
- Floods, droughts, pollution, groundwater depletion, and the degradation of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers are placing growing pressure on communities, economies, and ecosystems.
- Current agricultural water management practices cannot sustainably feed a global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050.
In many countries, inadequate or nonexistent water systems — combined with policy uncertainty, weak institutions, fragmented management, and financially unsustainable utilities — have become a direct barrier to development. These challenges limit productivity, undermine food and energy security, weaken resilience to climate shocks, and discourage investment. Where investment has occurred, isolated projects pursued by different actors without coordination have prevented lasting change at scale.
Water Forward targets both the symptoms and the root causes of water insecurity through three pillars:
- Water for People — safe water and sanitation services.
- Water for Food — sustainable water management for agriculture.
- Water for Planet — protection of water resources and ecosystems, and resilience to floods, droughts, and climate change.
Through country-led Water Compacts, Water Forward also helps address the policy, institutional, and financing barriers that have prevented water systems from becoming sustainable, investable, and scalable.
Rather than isolated projects pursued by separate actors, Water Forward aligns all partners behind government-led Water Compacts — with each partner contributing its comparative advantage, whether reforms, financing, or delivery. This approach enables results at a scale no single partner could achieve alone.
Key features that distinguish Water Forward:
- Government ownership: Water Compacts are country-led and country-owned, reflecting each country's specific water challenges, solutions, and financing needs.
- Coalition architecture: Nine MDB financing partners have each committed measurable people-reached targets and agreed to transparent reporting by 2030. At launch in April 2026, 14 countries had signed Water Compacts; many more have since joined or are in preparation.
- Economic reframing: Where past initiatives focused primarily on access and infrastructure, Water Forward explicitly connects water security to job creation, economic growth, and climate resilience — making the case that water is a foundation for prosperity.
Water Forward is organized around three pillars:
| Pillar | Focus |
| Water for People | Safe drinking water and sanitation services |
| Water for Food | Sustainable water management for agriculture |
| Water for Planet | Flood and drought resilience, ecosystem protection, and water resource management |
The World Bank Group's own contribution to Water Forward — delivered through the Water Strategy Implementation Plan — commits to reaching 400 million people by 2030:
- 250 million people through Water for People.
- 50 million people through Water for Food.
- 100 million people through Water for Planet.
Coalition partners — MDBs, governments, the private sector, and philanthropies — contribute their own commitments across these same pillars, bringing the overall coalition target to over one billion people by 2030.
*(Source: World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan, 2025)*
The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the anchor institutions of Water Forward, but the coalition is designed to be larger than any single institution.
For the World Bank Group, Water Forward is one of the institution's strategic priorities. Water Forward does not replace existing World Bank water lending or programs. Water Forward provides the strategic framework and coalition architecture within which World Bank programs operate and scale.
The World Bank Group's specific contributions include:
- Providing analytical foundations and knowledge.
- Facilitating convenings through the Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership (GWSP).
- Committing to advance water security for 400 million people by 2030 through the World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan and seven scalable solutions across the three pillars of Water Forward.
- Delivering ongoing support through GWSP and the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG).
(Source: World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan, 2025)
Achieving water security requires policy and regulatory reform, stronger institutions, improved utility performance, private sector participation, and investment risk mitigation — alongside infrastructure investment. The World Bank Group brings together these capabilities across three institutions.
World Bank works with governments to strengthen policies, institutions, regulations, and financing frameworks, while supporting investments in water supply, sanitation, irrigation, flood and drought resilience, and water resource management. The World Bank also provides technical assistance and analytics, and supports the development and implementation of country-led Water Compacts.
IFC (International Finance Corporation) mobilizes private capital and expertise by financing commercially viable water investments, advising on public-private partnerships (PPPs), and helping utilities and service providers improve their financial performance and access to capital markets.
MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) reduces investment risk through political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees, covering risks such as expropriation, breach of contract, and currency inconvertibility — giving private investors and lenders the confidence to participate in water infrastructure projects.
Together, the three World Bank Group institutions combine public financing, policy reform, private sector expertise, and risk mitigation to help countries implement ambitious water sector reforms and investments across all three pillars of Water Forward.
(Source: MIGA water guarantees, www.miga.org)
Water quality — including protection from lead contamination — is a core concern in World Bank-financed water projects. All World Bank projects are subject to the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), specifically Environmental and Social Standard 3 (ESS3) on Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management. ESS3 requires borrowers to assess and manage pollution risks throughout the project lifecycle, including risks to drinking water quality. Projects must align with national standards or WHO drinking water guidelines, whichever are more protective.
The World Bank treats lead pollution as a priority development challenge. The World Bank is advancing a phased approach to eliminating lead exposure in water systems, covering:
- Testing lead levels in people, products, and the environment.
- Procurement reforms requiring certified lead-free pipes, fittings, valves, and solder in water infrastructure.
- Regulatory support to strengthen national standards.
- Enhanced monitoring and surveillance of lead in water supplies.
The goal is lead-free drinking water by 2040. This approach is detailed in the World Bank blog Tackling Lead Pollution to Unlock Development Potential and the 2025 publication A World Without Lead: Paving the Path to a Healthy, Productive Future.
FLAG: Review and clear with Water Global Practice and ESF teams before publication.
(Sources: World Bank Environmental and Social Framework, ESS3; Tackling Lead Pollution to Unlock Development Potential; A World Without Lead, 2025)
Water Forward is one of the World Bank Group's strategic priorities — alongside Jobs, Mission 300, AgriConnect, HealthWorks, and Gender. All of these priorities are designed to reinforce each other.
- Jobs: Water-dependent sectors — including agriculture, energy, industry, and services — support an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, droughts cause between 600,000 and 900,000 job losses each year. Water security and job creation are inseparable.
- AgriConnect: AgriConnect's ambition to transform farming for 300 million smallholder farmers cannot be realized without water. Approximately 70% of global freshwater withdrawals go to agriculture, making water efficiency inseparable from agricultural productivity. |
- Mission 300: In Sub-Saharan Africa, Water Forward and Mission 300 create directly reinforcing conditions. Hydropower depends on water availability, and water systems depend on reliable energy — progress on one accelerates progress on the other in the region where both deficits are most acute.
- HealthWorks: Clean water and sanitation are a baseline for health. Waterborne disease remains one of the leading causes of preventable death globally, and health facilities without reliable water cannot function safely.
- Gender is embedded across all WBG water projects, reflecting a direct connection: women and girls disproportionately bear the burden of water collection and are among the first to lose livelihoods when water security breaks down.
(Sources: World Bank, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, November 2025; FAO AQUASTAT)
Water-dependent sectors — including agriculture, energy, industry, and services — support an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide. Water Forward is designed to protect and expand those jobs by making water systems reliable, investable, and productive.
How Water Forward creates and protects jobs:
- Infrastructure investment generates direct jobs in construction, engineering, and operations.
- Reliable water supply boosts productivity across agriculture and industry, supporting existing livelihoods and attracting private investment.
- By reducing exposure to floods, droughts, and waterborne disease, Water Forward shields workers and communities from the economic shocks that destroy jobs and set back years of progress.
The scale of the opportunity:
The World Bank flagship report Nourish and Flourish: Water Solutions to Feed 10 Billion People on a Livable Planet found that smarter water use in agriculture alone could create 245 million long-term jobs, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa. With over 1.2 billion young people expected to enter the workforce in developing countries over the next decade, securing water is one of the most direct investments a country can make in its economic future.
(Source: World Bank, Nourish and Flourish: Water Solutions to Feed 10 Billion People on a Livable Planet, March 2026)
The Water Forward page on the World Bank website is the primary hub for news, country compact updates, partner information, and progress reports.
- Governments interested in developing a Water Compact can engage directly with their World Bank country team.
- Multilateral development banks, private sector actors, and philanthropies interested in joining the coalition as partners can contact the Water Forward team at waterforward@worldbankgroup.org.
Regular updates are shared on social media through the World Bank Water X account, the GWSP X account, GWSP LinkedIn, and 2030WRG LinkedIn. Water Forward events and milestones are also announced at major international forums, including the World Bank–IMF Annual and Spring Meetings.
Partners and Membership
Water Forward brings together governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), the private sector, and philanthropies around a shared goal: to deliver water security for over one billion people by 2030.
Partner Countries lead and implement Water Compacts — setting bold national targets, driving the reforms needed to attract private capital, and convening partners around a shared national plan. For the most up-to-date list, visit the Water Forward country compacts page.
Financing Partners commit to measurable people-reached targets and transparent reporting by 2030. Nine MDB financing partners have collectively committed to reach over one billion people:
- World Bank Group
- European Investment Bank
- Asian Development Bank
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
- Islamic Development Bank
- New Development Bank
- Inter-American Development Bank
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- Council of Europe Development Bank
Three international financial institutions (IFIs) — the Green Climate Fund, OPEC Fund for International Development, and International Fund for Agricultural Development — have made additional commitments reported separately.
Enabling Partners bring technical expertise, analytics, and capacity building to country programs. This includes platforms such as the Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership (GWSP), the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG), and IFC's Technical Assistance Facility, as well as civil society organizations that contribute both expertise and accountability on the ground.
The full and updated partner list is available on the Water Forward website.
Commitments in Water Forward are structured around three partner categories, each contributing its comparative advantage to a shared goal: delivering water security for over one billion people by 2030.
Partner Countries lead and implement a Water Compact — setting bold national targets, driving the policy and institutional reforms needed to attract private capital, and convening other partners around a shared national plan.
Financing Partners commit to measurable people-reached targets and transparent reporting by 2030, providing grants, loans, and blended capital to de-risk investment and accelerate delivery. Nine MDB partners have collectively committed to reach over one billion people, with individual targets ranging from 3 million (Council of Europe Development Bank) to 400 million (World Bank Group).
Enabling Partners commit to achieving measurable, results-oriented targets for providing technical expertise, analytics, and capacity building to support country programs — delivered through platforms including GWSP, the 2030 Water Resources Group, and IFC's Technical Assistance Facility.
Across all categories, partners align financing and reforms behind country-led Water Compacts, mobilize investment through risk-sharing tools, and scale proven solutions to replicate results across regions.
The entry point depends on the type of partner.
Governments contribute to Water Forward by developing a Water Compact — a nationally owned plan that sets bold targets, commits to policy and institutional reforms, and establishes an investment roadmap for the water sector. The process is government-led and supported by the World Bank country team. Governments interested in developing a Compact can initiate the conversation through their World Bank country office.
Multilateral development banks, private companies, and philanthropies contribute as Financing or Enabling Partners, committing financing, measurable targets, or technical expertise aligned with country Water Compacts.
To express interest or learn more, contact the Water Forward team at waterforward@worldbankgroup.org or visit worldbank.org/ext/en/water.
Water investment has long been held back by policy uncertainty and a lack of bankable projects. Water Forward addresses both, creating the conditions for private capital to enter and scale in the water sector.
How Water Forward creates conditions for private investment:
- Country Water Compacts establish the stable regulatory environment, sector financial sustainability, and political acceptability that private investors require.
- Blended finance tools — guarantees, concessional loans, and risk-sharing instruments — reduce investment risk and build the confidence of private investors to participate in the water sector, progressively expanding the range of financing options available to countries.
The approach is tailored to market maturity:
- In less developed markets, the focus is on building utility creditworthiness and introducing local currency financing.
- In more mature markets, Water Forward supports commercial public-private partnerships (PPPs) and sustainable finance instruments such as green and blue bonds.
IFC's role:
IFC (International Finance Corporation) is central to this effort as a leading investor in the water sector. IFC mobilizes institutional investors, commercial banks, and other development finance institutions, multiplying the impact of IFC's own capital. In 2025, IFC and the Green Climate Fund launched the Resilient Water Infrastructure Facility — a $250 million concessional finance facility and an $8 million PPP structuring facility targeting 12 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. The facility aims to close critical viability gaps, strengthen local capacities, bring more private sector projects to market, lower the cost of borrowing, and attract commercial investments.
Beyond financing, private sector participation brings technology, innovation, operational efficiency, and performance-based delivery models. Water Forward harnesses these capabilities alongside public-sector leadership to expand access, improve service quality and efficiency, and build more resilient and financially sustainable water systems.
Objectives, Scale, and Results
Water Forward mobilizes the full spectrum of capital — public, private, and philanthropic — aligned behind government-led Water Compacts. Partner commitments are measured in people reached with improved water security by 2030.
MDB financing partner commitments (people reached by 2030):
| Partner | Commitment |
| World Bank Group | 400 million |
| European Investment Bank | 300 million |
| Asian Development Bank | 100 million |
| Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank | 100 million |
| Islamic Development Bank | 85 million |
| New Development Bank | 70 million |
| Inter-American Development Bank | 50 million |
| European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | 20 million |
| Council of Europe Development Bank | 3 million |
| Total | Over 1 billion |
Three additional IFIs — the Green Climate Fund, OPEC Fund for International Development, and International Fund for Agricultural Development — report their commitments separately to avoid double-counting.
Private sector mobilization:
Water Forward uses blended finance tools — guarantees, concessional loans, and risk-sharing instruments — to attract private capital into the water sector. IFC and the Green Climate Fund have launched the Resilient Water Infrastructure Facility: a $250 million concessional finance facility and an $8 million PPP structuring facility targeting 12 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
As of August 2026, 22 countries have joined Water Forward as Partner Countries and committed to advancing country-led Water Compacts: Albania, Angola, Armenia, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia.
Additional countries are in the process of developing their Water Compacts. For the most current list, visit the Water Forward country compacts page.
Water Forward measures impact through two primary dimensions: people reached with improved water security, and financing mobilized.
All Financing Partners commit to measurable targets and transparent reporting on both dimensions by 2030. The overall coalition target — water security for over one billion people — is tracked against the combined commitments of all partners. The World Bank Group's own contribution targets 400 million people through the World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan across the three pillars of Water Forward.
At the country level, each Water Compact includes an approach to monitoring results, covering:
- People with improved water security.
- Process indicators for reform and investment progress.
The framework tracks outputs — infrastructure built, people connected — alongside the reforms and institutional improvements that make water systems sustainable over time.
(Source: World Bank Water Strategy Implementation Plan, December 2025)
The Water Forward page on the World Bank website is the primary hub for the latest news, country compact updates, partner information, and coalition progress.
Country-level Water Compact documents are available on the country compacts page.
Four World Bank flagship water publications provide the most comprehensive evidence base on water security across all three pillars of Water Forward:
All four reports and further research are available on the World Bank global water publications page.
For regular updates, follow the World Bank Water X account, the GWSP X account, GWSP LinkedIn, and 2030WRG LinkedIn.
Water Compacts
A Water Compact is a government-owned and government-led document that sets out a country's ambition and commitment to advance water security.
At a minimum, a Water Compact:
- Expresses a bold national target for water security.
- Establishes a reform roadmap covering policy, institutional, and regulatory change.
- Identifies the country's main water challenges.
- Specifies public investment commitments and plans to leverage private capital.
- Includes an approach to monitoring results.
Water Compacts are flexible documents shaped by each country's context and priorities — Water Compacts do not follow a fixed template. To see examples of Water Compacts from participating countries, visit the Water Forward country compacts page.
No. Water Compacts are pledges, not legally binding international treaties.
The country is the sole party to its own Compact. Validation is determined through national channels, ranging from a line ministry to Cabinet or Parliament, depending on the country's governance structure. Water Forward does not approve the content of Water Compacts — Water Compacts are country-owned documents.
Water Compacts complement existing international commitments. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) pledges, and UN Water Conference outcomes set broad goals. Water Compacts go further by specifying the concrete policies, regulatory reforms, and investment actions needed to reach those goals.
For some countries, ambitions are already captured in national strategies, and the Water Compact serves as a means of communicating those ambitions more clearly to external partners. Water Compacts connect ambition to implementation with a clear path to action.
Water Compacts complement existing international commitments. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) pledges, and UN Water Conference outcomes set broad goals. Water Compacts go further by specifying the concrete policies, regulatory reforms, and investment actions needed to reach those goals.
For some countries, ambitions are already captured in national strategies, and the Water Compact serves as a means of communicating those ambitions more clearly to external partners. Water Compacts connect ambition to implementation with a clear path to action.
No. Water Compacts are not a conditionality for World Bank financing.
Water Compacts are designed to promote a coordinated approach to water sector reform and investment, drawing on a range of World Bank Group instruments — including investment project financing, development policy operations, and program-for-results. A Water Compact supports that process but does not guarantee access to World Bank financing.
No. Water Compacts are government-owned documents that reflect each country's own priorities and context. Water Compacts do not impose a model or restrict policy choices.
Countries determine which reforms to commit to and which pillars — Water for People, Water for Food, Water for Planet — are most relevant to their national goals. A country is not required to address all three pillars.
Water Compacts are national pledges. Monitoring and reporting on progress is the responsibility of national or sub-national authorities.
The World Bank Group does not undertake independent monitoring or evaluation of compact commitments, and there are no penalties for non-delivery. The compact framework is designed to support countries in achieving their goals.
Water Compacts are national pledges. Monitoring and reporting on progress is the responsibility of national or sub-national authorities.
The World Bank Group does not undertake independent monitoring or evaluation of compact commitments, and there are no penalties for non-delivery. The compact framework is designed to support countries in achieving their goals.
Water Compacts are national pledges. Monitoring and reporting on progress is the responsibility of national or sub-national authorities.
The World Bank Group does not undertake independent monitoring or evaluation of compact commitments, and there are no penalties for non-delivery. The compact framework is designed to support countries in achieving their goals.
Water Compacts are national pledges. Monitoring and reporting on progress is the responsibility of national or sub-national authorities.
The World Bank Group does not undertake independent monitoring or evaluation of compact commitments, and there are no penalties for non-delivery. The compact framework is designed to support countries in achieving their goals.