Keynote Address by Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director of Operations, at the African Water Forum

N'Djamena, Chad - July 15, 2026As prepared for delivery Your Excellency President Déby, thank you for hosting this Forum and for Chad's leadership on water security.Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It is a pleasure to join you at the African Water Forum, particularly in a year when the African Union has placed water and sanitation at the center of the continent's development agenda. It's also a pleasure to be back in Chad. During my last visit, I traveled to Adré, on the border with Sudan, where I saw firsthand how water insecurity affects every aspect of daily life for both refugees and host communities. It was a powerful reminder that water is life. And as I hope to demonstrate today, water is also an economic powerhouse for Africa. It is closely linked to the continent’s vital assets. Let us step back. No continent is better positioned to benefit from a growing and dynamic generation of young people than Africa. Their talent, energy, and ambition represent one of the world's greatest development opportunities. Over the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, but only about 400 million jobs are expected to be created. In Africa, the numbers are equally striking. Over the next decade, roughly 320 million young people across the continent will reach working age, yet only about 30 million jobs are expected to be created if current trends continue. Africa is the only region in the world with a growing population. By 2050, one in four people in the world will be African. And the continent’s youth are projected to account for nearly one-third of the world’s young people. Young people are Africa’s greatest asset. Asset #1: Young People and Water Meeting the jobs challenge will require investing in people from the very start of life and creating opportunities for them to thrive as adults. And water is part of the solution. A child needs clean water and sanitation, nutritious food, healthcare, education, and a safe environment to grow, learn, and reach their full potential. These investments are deeply connected, and water runs through all of them. Without safe water, children are more vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. They miss school. Their potential is limited before it has the chance to develop. With access to safe water and sanitation, children are healthier, stronger, better able to learn, and better prepared to contribute to society. Yet helping children reach their full potential is only part of the challenge. As children become young adults, they need opportunities to put their talents to work, earn a living, start businesses, and contribute to their communities. And this is where water becomes not only a human necessity, but also an economic asset that can unlock jobs, raise productivity, and support growth. Asset #2: Economic Prosperity and Water Today, nearly one in three people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to basic water services. In rural areas, nearly one in two. Worryingly, diseases linked to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene cause as many as 600,000 deaths in the region, while as many as 1 million people are pushed out of work each year in Sub-Saharan Africa due to drought. Africa is home to some of the world's greatest freshwater assets. From the Nile and the Congo Basin to the Niger, Zambezi, Senegal, and Volta rivers, water has sustained communities and economies for generations. In much of Africa, the challenge is not the availability of water. The challenge is delivering reliable water services through the infrastructure, institutions, and financing needed to connect people, farms, and businesses to this resource. What is missing is often not the water itself, but the systems needed to transform water into jobs, growth, food security, and resilience. Because when water does not work, economies do not work. Farmers cannot increase productivity. Businesses cannot expand. Cities struggle to attract investment. Entrepreneurs cannot create jobs at the scale Africa needs. Agriculture employs more than 60 percent of Africa's workforce, yet approximately 95 percent of cultivated land remains dependent on rainfall. Expanding climate-smart irrigation can strengthen food security, create jobs, boost productivity, and increase rural incomes. More broadly, reliable water systems help cities grow, businesses invest, and communities become more resilient to climate shocks. That brings me to the third asset linked to water: resilience. Asset #3: Resilience and Water Well-functioning water supply is not only about people thriving today and economies growing. It is also about countries withstanding shocks and building resilience. Too often, water insecurity sits at the center of broader development challenges. It undermines food security, fuels displacement, and contributes to fragility and instability. Strengthening water security is therefore an investment in resilience. It helps communities adapt to climate change, manage droughts and floods, protect livelihoods, and reduce the pressures that lead to crises. Recognizing the fundamental importance of water, I would now like to talk about Water Forward – one of several global initiatives we at the World Bank Group are pursuing to help our clients transform their economies and create opportunities for their people. Water Forward Launched in April of this year, Water Forward is the World Bank Group's most ambitious water initiative ever. Its goal is to help deliver water security for over one billion people by 2030 by advancing water for people, water for food, and water for the planet. At the center of this effort are National Water Compacts: government-led platforms that bring together reforms, institutions, financing, and implementation around a common agenda. This is because lasting progress happens when countries lead and partners align behind a shared vision. I am excited that Chad, Guinea, and The Gambia will present their National Water Compacts here in N'Djamena today, joining a growing group of countries across the region that are advancing country-led approaches to water security. Today, 22 countries have prepared National Water Compacts, including 15 in Sub-Saharan Africa, and we anticipate another 25 before the end of the calendar year. We are proud to support this effort alongside governments, development partners, the private sector, and local communities across Africa. As I close, let me return to the powerful connection between water and Africa’s greatest assets. First, water is fundamentally about people and their potential. It means healthier children, better learning outcomes, greater opportunities for women and girls, and stronger communities. Second, water is fundamentally about opportunity. Every drop of water put to productive use is a job supported, a harvest secured, and a business enabled. Third, water is fundamentally about resilience. Water security helps countries strengthen food security, reduce displacement, withstand climate shocks, and build stability. Together, these three dimensions—people, opportunity, and resilience—are essential to Africa's future. Africa's aspirations for jobs, food security, resilience, and shared prosperity depend on getting the fundamentals right. And few fundamentals matter more than water. The path forward is clear. Success requires country leadership, strong institutions, financing at scale, and sustained cooperation across borders. The tools exist. Because when water works, economies work. Water can become one of Africa's most powerful engines of jobs, productivity, and growth. Together, we can turn water security into opportunity for people across the continent. Thank you.