H.E. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah co-chaired a global leaders’ event on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, welcoming plans to launch the Global Water Investment Platform’s Global Blended De-Risking Facility at the 2026 UN Water Conference.
“We must translate political commitments into bankable projects and tangible results,” said H.E. President Nandi-Ndaitwah at the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa and Global Cooperation Event, co-convened with the Republics of South Africa and Senegal, and the African Union.
The Global Water Partnership Organisation (GWPO) will advance the Global Blended De-Risking Facility by supporting the alignment and efforts of countries, the UN, multilateral development banks and the private sector.
“Countries know their water priorities best. Our role in advancing the Global Blended De-Risking Facility is to help turn those priorities into bankable projects, and to make sure public and private finance is lined up behind them,” said GWPO CEO Alex Simalabwi.
Five years of progress on Africa’s water investment gap
H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Alternate Co-Chair of the Panel, presented the progress made and the work still required to close Africa’s US$30 billion annual water investment gap through the African Union’s Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP).
Since 2021, the AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa has delivered the following outcomes:
- an estimated US$10–12 billion annual water investment pipeline towards the US$30 billion target, identified at the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025, where more than 80 transformative water and climate-resilient infrastructure projects were presented;
- the AIP-PIDA Water Investment Scorecard, measuring investment readiness across 30 countries; and
- 20 climate-resilient national water investment programmes advanced.
From pipeline to funded projects
H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, commended the progress of the AIP and underscored the scale of Africa’s annual financing requirement and the wider impacts of water insecurity on health, agriculture, food security and economic resilience.
Transforming the US$10–12 billion pipeline emerging from the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025 into funded, implementable projects will require countries to overcome major project-preparation and de-risking constraints.
In this respect, H.E. President Nandi-Ndaitwah said that the Global Blended De-Risking Facility would have a key role to play. She added that the Facility would be hosted in Windhoek by GWPO, and encouraged partners to support the initiative ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.
H.E. Dr. Cheikh Tidiane Diéye, Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation for the Republic of Senegal and President of the African Ministers’ Council on Water, spoke on behalf of H.E. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. He said: “As co-host of the 2026 UN Water Conference, Senegal commits to advancing the concrete commitments made at this event in relation to the Global Water Investment Platform (GIP), the operationalisation of the Global Blended De-Risking Facility and its high-level launch in Abu Dhabi.”
Scaling the AIP model globally
The Global Blended De-Risking Facility forms part of the GIP. The GIP was established as a flagship G20 Presidential Legacy Initiative under South Africa’s Presidency to strengthen global efforts to close the US$140 billion annual investment gap for water and sanitation by 2030. It is the world’s first dedicated global mechanism designed to mobilise, de-risk and accelerate large-scale public and private investment in water security.
The GIP will also facilitate the scale-out of the AIP model across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia Pacific and Europe. Jaehyang So, Chair of GWPO’s Technical Committee, spoke on behalf of GWPO Chair Hon. Pablo Bereciartua. She said that work had already begun in Latin America and the Caribbean to establish a US$20 billion initiative to close the region’s water investment gap and accelerate progress towards SDG 6.
Statements of support from global partners
South Africa and France are Co-Chairs of the interactive dialogue on water investment at the 2026 UN Water Conference. They commended the leadership of Namibia and the AU High-Level Panel, and their commitment to mobilising concrete water investments at the Conference. Hon. Pemmy Majodina received the Panel Report on behalf of H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa. She said that the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025 represented an important step in the right direction, but that the momentum it generated must be sustained.
The Republic of France’s Ambassador for the Environment, H.E. Barbara Pompili, confirmed that “France looks forward to working with South Africa, the African Union, the International High-Level Panel, participating countries and international partners to ensure that the 2026 UN Water Conference produces practical and ambitious outcomes.”
Finland and Zambia, Co-Chairs of the interactive dialogue on Water for Cooperation at the 2026 UN Water Conference, welcomed the water investment initiative and underlined the need to strengthen water diplomacy and cooperation.
The Republic of Finland was represented by H.E. Satu Suikkari-Kleven, Ambassador, UN Peace and Security and Global Partnerships. She highlighted the importance of cooperation agreements on transboundary waters and basins, adding that these “send a positive signal to potential financing partners that appropriate and durable conditions exist for long-term project development.”
Jonibek Hikmat, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the UN, urged partners to link the outcomes of the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025, which included the GIP, to the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi and the 2028 UN Water Conference in Dushanbe.
The leaders’ event at UNGA also included high-level representatives from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Tanzania, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), UNICEF and the Green Climate Fund.
Windhoek as a hub for water diplomacy
Namibia announced its commitment to water diplomacy and to further strengthening cooperation and investment in water security. The country became host to GWPO’s headquarters earlier this year.
“This partnership strengthens Namibia’s contribution to global water governance, climate resilience and investment mobilisation. We are working with GWPO and our partners to position Windhoek as a centre for water diplomacy, dialogue and investment,” said H.E. President Nandi-Ndaitwah.
The featured image at the top of this page shows from left: H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf Chairperson: African Union Commission, H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, Panel Alternate Co-Chair and Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the Republic of Namibia, Sam Matekane, Prime Minister of Lesotho; H.E. Dr. Cheikh Tidiane Diéye, Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Republic of Senegal and AMCOW President