Money on the table: Why better budget planning is key to fixing the water crisis Saroj Kumar JhaArturo Herrera GutierrezKaushiki Singh August 20, 2026 This page in: English Español 中文

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/Money-on-the-Table-Why-Better-Budget-Planning-IsKey-to-Fixing-the-Water-Crisis?cid=ECR_E_NewsletterWeekly_EN_EXT&deliveryName=DM287642 Water underpins good health, food production, and the energy that powers businesses. It also supports an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide. Yet the world is massively off-track on Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. The water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) financing gap demanding dramatically higher public investments. And even the money governments do allocate for water routinely goes unspent. Water takes center stage for World Water Week (Aug. 23-27) — and for good reason. Water underpins health, food, and energy, and supports an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide. Yet governments are routinely leaving allocated water budgets unspent. The answer lies not in more financing, but in the systems that turn allocations into infrastructure people can count on. As the school year begins for millions of children around the world, we also look at the classrooms, campuses, and communities building the next generation of workers and job creators. Albania is overhauling how students learn digital skills. Cambodia is dismantling the geographic barriers that keep remote students out of school. In Nepal, graduates are launching businesses and hiring others. In South Africa, a new report makes the case for a skills system rebuilt around what employers actually need. Plus, our Water Forward initiative is working to improve water security for 400 million people by 2030.