The new platform aligns country reforms, financing, and partnerships to expand reliable water services and strengthen systems against droughts and floods while providing conditions for job creation. 

The multilateral development and financial institutions that have committed to the initiative include the Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and the Council of Europe Development Bank. 

The rest are European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, New Development Bank, OPEC Fund for Intranational Development, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. 

This development comes at a critical time as water underpins health, food systems, energy, and an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide, however four billion people experience water scarcity. 

The World Bank says in many countries, unclear policies, weak regulations, and financially unsustainable utilities have slowed progress and deterred investment in the sector. 

The Bank’s Water Forward initiative, therefore, aims to address those challenges by helping developing countries to build stronger, more reliable water systems that can unlock productivity, support livelihoods, and enable private investment. 

It would also support reforms to strengthen institutions, improve financial performance, and develop investment-ready projects. 

“Water is foundational to how economies function. When water systems work, farmers produce, businesses operate, and cities attract investment. Our task now is to align reform, financing, and partnerships to deliver reliable water services at scale,” Mr Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, said.  

He said this during a forum at the ongoing WBG/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington, noting that 14 countries had announced their national compact under the Water Forward initiative, with efforts underway in more than 25 countries. 

At the core of the initiative are country-led water compacts, through which governments would define reform priorities, commit to strengthening institutions, and establish investment pathways for their water sectors.  

Mr Banga said multilateral development banks, governments, philanthropies, and private sector actors were aligning financing and expertise to speed investment and implementation of projects that would boost reliable access to water. 

The World Bank Group President noted that with more than 1.2bn young people entering the workforce in developing countries over the next 10 to 15 years, reliable water would be critical. 

He said strong water systems were foundational to healthy economies that could attract private investment and create jobs, saying: “Water may seem basic, but it is economic infrastructure. It is a physical capital that enables human capital to perform at its best.” 

“It determines whether people are healthy enough to work, whether children have a childhood to learn and to explore, and whether businesses can operate and economies can grow. Ultimately, whether countries can create jobs at the scale that their people need.” 

“The World Bank Group is committed to delivering water security to 400 million by 2030. With its additional partner commitments, Water Forward expects to reach more than one billion people.” 

Mr Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, described water as an economic infrastructure, adding; “It is important to development as far as the data, rural spots, and digital connectivity is concerned.” 

He referred to a United Nations data, which showed that three out of every four jobs globally were either heavily or moderately dependent on water, such that when water system failed, labour markets, agriculture, industry, and human capital suffered. 

Mr Dangote called for stronger data and utilities, better regulation and project preparation, and financing models that protected the poor while allowing systems to remain viable. 

 He encouraged a shift from fragmented interventions to systems-wide partnerships to ensure sustainability.