As prepared for delivery.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It’s a pleasure to welcome you to today’s event on Financing Water Security.
Water is the foundation of human well-being, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. It supports agriculture, drives industrial production, and sustains livelihoods across the globe.
Yet today, more than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 3.5 billion live without safely managed sanitation. These deficits have far-reaching impacts on public health, the environment, food and nutrition security, jobs, and social stability.
To meet the scale of this challenge, we must pursue sustainable water security. This means promoting policies and financing that support water reuse for industrial, agricultural, and even potable uses. We must also decarbonize the water cycle by integrating renewable energy, ensuring safe sanitation, and reducing emissions across all water management processes.
Climate Change is upending everything we thought we knew about water flows. When we experience too much or too little water as we are today, water security becomes essential for both mitigating the effects of climate change and helping societies adapt to its impact.
In short, water action is climate action.
But current global levels of investment are inadequate to address water sector risks and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The investment needed in water-related infrastructure has been estimated at $6.7 trillion by 2030 and $22.6 trillion by 2050.
Public spending, particularly in developing countries, falls short. On average, only 1.2% of national budgets are allocated to water, compared to about 4% for the transport and energy sectors.
Many water service providers, particularly in developing countries, struggle with low creditworthiness, limiting their access to commercial borrowing. Strengthening their operational and financial capacity is essential to making them more bankable.
We must also improve how public funds are spent. Our analysis shows that up to 28% of water sector budgets remain unspent each year due to inefficiencies. Simply improving budget execution could unlock significant progress and ensure public spending reaches the poorest and most vulnerable communities.
Public funding alone is not enough. We need to mobilize private investment to close the financing gap.
Leveraging innovative financing instruments—such as guarantees, bonds, and public private partnerships—can reduce the risks associated with water investments. To that end, the new World Bank Group unified guarantee platform will help increase private sector participation and catalyze investment.
To succeed, we must also harness partnerships, stakeholder inclusion, and global knowledge to shape local solutions. Country-owned, multi-stakeholder platforms foster collaboration and coordination among governments, civil society, and the private sector, ensuring sustainable water management that reflects local needs and priorities.
We are committed to supporting countries on this journey. Our ongoing operations are expected to provide water to 156 million people by 2030, over 40% of whom live in Sub Saharan Africa. IDA, our fund for the poorest, has delivered access to improved sanitation services to nearly 70 million people and improved water sources for over 117 million people.
And through our new Water Strategy, we will help countries scale up and speed up universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene and enhance food production and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, while reducing the risks and likelihoods of floods and droughts.
Water security is central to our shared future on a livable planet. Over the next 90 minutes, we’ll explore how we can mobilize the necessary financing, expertise, and capital to close the demand-supply gap. I look forward to fruitful discussions.
Thank you.
