Water

Explore WATER FOCUS AREAS

• Water for People
• Water for Food
• Water for Planet

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Water is the foundation of a livable planet

Water is our most valuable yet overlooked resource. It sustains people, powers economies and jobs, grows food, and supports ecosystems. But this vital asset is under greater stress than ever before. To achieve a world free of poverty on a livable planet, we need to transform how we use and manage water resources. The World Bank Group's new water strategy aims to ensure efficient and sustainable use of water for people, food, and the planet.

Investing in water means investing in economic growth

Water is essential for jobs, productivity, livelihoods, and thriving economies. Water-dependent sectors, such as agriculture, energy, and industry, support around 1.7 billion jobs worldwide.

Access to clean water and sanitation improves public health and frees up time, enabling more people—especially women—to participate in the workforce.

Investment in water supply and sanitation offers strong value for money, with every dollar spent in Africa generating a $7 return.

No country can achieve lasting prosperity without securing its water future.

Water shortages can wipe out jobs, as seen in Cape Town’s 2018 drought, which cost 20,000 agricultural workers their livelihoods. Investing in water security is not just about survival; it’s about building stronger, more resilient economies.

The financing needs are enormous

Delivering and sustaining water supply and sanitation services requires massive public and private investments, alongside better policies, institutions, and regulations to promote efficiency and reduce waste. Meeting the water supply and sanitation Sustainable Development Goals requires $131–$140 billion annually, nearly double current public funding levels.

We can make water investments more effective by improving efficiency and strengthening public institutions

The World Bank report “Funding a Water-Secure Future” reveals significant weaknesses in the water sector including very low government budget execution rates, productivity losses, and inefficiencies. Moreover, existing subsidies are poorly allocated and do not benefit the poor or incentivize performance. Measures that improve the effectiveness of spending by governments—including capacity building, water pricing reforms, and reforms to utilities—will strengthen the sector and attract more private finance and international capital to accelerate progress.

The private sector can play a pivotal role in raising finance and innovation

The private sector brings unique strengths to water challenges. Private companies are well placed to innovate by, for example, structuring new financing mechanisms and developing new applications for technologies. Collaboration can augment financing, operational efficiency, and expertise. The World Bank Group encourages private sector participation by driving regulatory reforms, improving water sector governance, and reducing investment risk through technical assistance and various financing and de-risking instruments.

Harnessing Innovation for a Water-Secure Future

Innovation is key to solving the world’s water challenges, yet the water sector has been slow to adopt new technologies. Less than 10% of water utilities in low- and middle-income countries use tools like artificial intelligence, big data analytics, or digital twins. Meanwhile, advances in sensor technology, computing, and data management offer powerful ways to monitor water quality, optimize supply, and improve decision-making. To accelerate progress, we must create policies and incentives that encourage innovation, invest in financing to scale new solutions, and ensure continuous learning so water professionals can keep pace with emerging technologies. By embracing innovation, we can make water systems smarter, more efficient, and more resilient — driving both sustainability and economic growth.

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Water is life. It flows through every aspect of our development, driving jobs, growth and prosperity – and is in a state of crisis. Addressing this global crisis is central to our efforts to end poverty on a livable planet.

Our new global water strategy leverages World Bank Group expertise, resources, and partnerships to ensure water for people, water for food, and water for planet. Through this strategy, we aim to help countries accelerate universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; enhance food production and smallholder livelihoods; reduce water-related risks and sustainably manage water.

The World Bank Group is implementing innovative solutions to amplify impact

We are collaborating with a wide range of partners to solve complex problems: for example, working with donors in development finance, governments, and the private sector to increase blended finance water projects.

Water for People: We help countries work toward universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene

Access to clean water and sanitation is fundamental for public health and economic growth. Yet over 2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, and more than 3.4 billion live without adequate sanitation. Each year, 400,000 children under the age of five die from unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene. We work with governments to expand inclusive and reliable water and sanitation services by adopting circular economy approaches, reforming water pricing and speeding up utility and service reforms. We support governments in strengthening their institutions and increasing local funding to improve services, drive efficiency, and encourage innovations.

Water for Food: We advance sustainable water use for food security

As the world’s population grows, so does the demand for food—and with it, the need for water. In some places, farmers struggle to grow enough food despite available water, while in others, agriculture is using more water than the land can sustain. Small-scale farmers, who rely on unpredictable rainfall, are especially vulnerable. Today, half a billion farmers are smallholders vulnerable to erratic rain. Expanding irrigation in a sustainable way can boost farmers’ harvests, improve livelihoods, and lower food prices— benefiting particularly the poor households that spend a higher share of their income on food. We support smarter farming methods and technologies that increase food production within the available water supply. We also help connect farmers with the private sector so they can access better tools, infrastructure, and financing to grow their businesses.

Water for Planet: We work with countries to reduce water-related risks and manage water sustainably

Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events are disrupting water resources and threatening ecosystems. Wetlands are shrinking, rivers are drying, and biodiversity is declining, jeopardizing the health of our planet and leaving millions without reliable freshwater sources. Our future depends on protecting the planet’s water resources for all who rely on them. Our approach includes building resilient water systems that protect communities from floods and droughts, restoring and preserving ecosystems to maintain water quality, and integrating water management with broader environmental policies.

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As the largest multilateral financier of water in developing countries, with a $29 billion portfolio, we work to boost public and private finance to solve the water crisis. We are committed to rolling out water solutions at a much greater scale.

Below are some specific results from World Bank-supported projects.

Modernizing Irrigation in Indonesia

The Strategic Irrigation Modernization and Urgent Rehabilitation Project has benefited over 380,000 farmers across 10 provinces. Climate-resilient irrigation practices enabled the farmers to increase their incomes by up to 39%, while climate-smart agriculture reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by 35%.

The project is also improving the quality of service delivery and irrigation water use efficiency through innovative irrigation service agreements, which define the responsibilities of service providers, water delivery, maintenance of canals, and procedures during water shortages.

By increasing transparency, water users can hold service providers accountable for the quality of services. These agreements can be an important tool in the modernization of agriculture worldwide.

Brazil: A Proactive Approach to Drought Resilience

In 2010, Brazil was deeply affected by a multiyear drought, which lasted until 2019 and is now recognized as one of the worst ever recorded. Driven to improve their resilience, Brazil used the initial dry period as an opportunity to move the country from a reactive to a proactive approach when it came to drought risk management.

With support from the World Bank Group, the government identified investments in drought monitoring and forecasting as their key priority for mitigating drought risk. The World Bank Group-financed Brazil Drought Monitor was created over ten years ago, marking a significant achievement in drought management and monitoring across Brazil. The Drought Monitor initially covered nine northeastern states but has since expanded to encompass all 27 states and the federal district⁠.

The monitoring system now involves 60 state and five federal institutions, with 23 authors and over 120 “map contributors” who work together to create monthly drought maps. These maps serve as crucial tools for communicating drought severity and triggering appropriate policy responses.

Modernizing and Rehabilitating India’s Dams

Dams provide critical infrastructure for power generation, flood moderation, and water supply for drinking, agriculture, and industrial use. Strengthening their structural safety and operational management will help in building better resilience to handle the effects of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

In the world’s largest dam rehabilitation program, the World Bank is helping India modernize and rehabilitate over 500 dams and build a system to strengthen over 6200 dams in the country. All dams are also being provided with an Emergency Action Plan, developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including the local community. These plans are shared publicly so that everyone knows what to do in an emergency. In addition, the project is enabling India to create a new pool of dam professionals by developing one of the world's first post graduate courses in dam safety.

Watering Seeds of Prosperity in the Sahel

Two-thirds of people in Africa’s Sahel region live in rural areas and depend on rainfed farming for their livelihoods. Less than 1% of cultivated land is irrigated.

The Sahel Irrigation Initiative Support Project is financing efficient and innovative solutions to develop climate-resilient agriculture to improve the livelihoods of 390,000 farmers across 2,000 sites. The project is helping establish irrigation systems such as drip and spray irrigation, solar water pumping, and collection of surface water.

Funded by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the project is helping establish irrigation systems such as drip and spray irrigation, solar water pumping, and collection of surface water.

Building a Period Friendly World–One Toilet at a Time

About 39% of schools in Ethiopia are still without sanitation facilities and 76% without access to an improved water supply.

The World Bank Group is evolving its focus on the design of projects, primarily the infrastructure needed to aid menstrual health and hygiene, to include the integration and institutionalization of learning in school curriculums and more effort to address menstrual stigma and norms.

The One WaSH National Program-Consolidated WaSH Account (One WaSH-CWA), supported by the Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership, has reached 1,074 schools, and built 227 new menstrual hygiene management rooms- improving school attendance, especially among girls.

In Bangladesh, the Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Human Capital Development Project is partnering with local organizations to train women in entrepreneurship and offer small loans to start sanitary product businesses. This approach is building women-led, peer-to-peer networks that deliver both products and information— making menstrual health more accessible, acceptable, and sustainable in rural communities.

Improving Rural Sanitation in Egypt

In Egypt, the World Bank, jointly with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is supporting the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program, which improved access to better sanitation services for more than a million people. The program is improving sanitation infrastructure by supporting the construction and rehabilitation of sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems, alongside strengthening of institutional capacity and policies related to sanitation. Six water and sanitation companies, serving 34 million residents, have significantly enhanced their performance and the development of the National Water and Sanitation Sector Strategy has set another important milestone for the sector.

Mobilizing Private Investment in the Water Sector

Ensuring universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030 will need an estimated investment of $1.04 trillion in water and sanitation infrastructure, the bulk of it in developing countries.  Shrinking public budgets can’t shoulder the burden of this magnitude alone.  Engaging the private sector – which can contribute innovation, expertise and financing – is essential for achieving the World Bank Group’s water strategy objectives.

IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is a leading investor in the water sector, with extensive experience in preparing, structuring, and financing comprehensive solutions for the water sector clients in emerging markets.  Since 1995, IFC has committed and mobilized $7.2 billion in water projects around the world.  These investments have modernized water infrastructure and sanitation facilities, protected water ecosystems from pollution and overuse, and improved water use efficiencies for agriculture, businesses and households.

In Brazil, IFC is investing in the country’s largest water utilities and sanitation providers like SABESP and Sanasa to help modernize and expand water and sewerage infrastructure, reduce operational losses and clean up local rivers.

In the Philippines, IFC is the cornerstone investor in the IPO of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. – the operator of the largest water concession in the country and Southeast Asia – to help mobilize the capital needed to reach universal wastewater service coverage by 2026.

In Morocco, IFC is working with OCP Group, one of the world’s leading fertilizer manufacturers, to secure sustainable and reliable water sources that will free up water for farmers, businesses and consumers. And in Georgia, IFC anchored a green bond issuance by the country’s largest privately owned water supply and wastewater utility company to improve services for 1.3 million people while expanding the utility’s access to international capital markets.

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• The Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership (GWSP)
• 2030 Water Resources Group
• The Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA)
• South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI)
• Central Asia Water & Energy Program
• Singapore Water Center
• The Global Facility for Transboundary Waters

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