New partnership to help achieve goal of water security for over one billion people by 2030.
WASHINGTON AND LISBON, OCTOBER 26, 2026 — The World Bank Group and the Lisbon International Centre for Water (LIS-Water), today announced a multi-year partnership to help countries strengthen water and sanitation services through better policies, stronger institutions and more effective regulation.
The partnership, announced at the Water and Sanitation Governance Leadership Program in Lisbon, with Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, at the opening ceremony, will help governments turn reforms into investment-ready projects to attract private finance and innovation. Attended by policymakers from over 40 countries, and supported by the Government of Portugal, the partnership directly supports Water Forward, a multi-stakeholder coalition launched by the World Bank Group, that aims to deliver water security for over one billion people by 2030.
Water security underpins jobs, economic resilience, food security, and public health. Getting governance right is key to water security. Weak regulation, fragmented institutions, and gaps in leadership capacity can delay reforms and investment. The partnership will help countries address these barriers, laying the groundwork for stronger water and sanitation services. It pairs the Bank Group’s global operational reach and convening power with LIS-Water’s specialized expertise in water regulation and policy.
“Our partnership with LIS-Water is about putting policies, institutions, and regulatory agenda forward for Water Forward that aims to reach over one billion people by 2030,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, Global Director, Water, World Bank Group. “Stronger institutions and predictable regulatory frameworks will help attract new investments in the water sector to drive jobs and prosperity in the developing countries.”
- This partnership is fully in line with the Portuguese Government’s commitment to better water governance and strong water and sanitation services. Portugal has been working with several partners around the world, including the World Bank, to help close the gap in the implementation of SDG 6 by 2030. We believe this partnership between the World Bank and LIS-Water will be a step in the right direction, providing capacity-building support and high-quality expertise and know-how to organizations around the world to help them strengthen their capacity and improve their results.Maria da Graça CarvalhoMinister for Environment and Energy of Portugal
The agreement establishes a coordinated work program across five streams:
- 360-degree governance diagnostics that give countries a clear picture of where their water and sanitation systems stand and what it will take to fix them;
- Regulatory and institutional strengthening to help governments build the frameworks that turn reform ambitions into bankable investments;
- Executive leadership training for regulators, utility managers, mayors, parliamentarians, and the next generation of sector leaders;
- Cutting-edge analytical work, including how artificial intelligence can drive smarter water governance; and,
- Operational guidance for World Bank Group lending to help project teams embed governance reform into investments from day one.
