2025 was a defining year for World Waternet. In a world facing growing challenges, the organisation and its partners continued to deliver meaningful results for people and water systems around the globe. With a strong focus on long term cooperation and local impact, the year shows what is possible when trust and partnership come together.
Impact in numbers
The impact of 3.8 million people reached in 2025 significantly exceeded the projected 3.5 million people. This marks clear progress compared to previous years and shows steady movement towards the Impact Plan 2030 goal of reaching 6 million people by 2030. This number is cumulative. It includes programmes that were active in or from 2024, ensuring continuity and long-term measurement of results.
World Waternet measures impact carefully. To maintain accuracy, a maximum of 10% attribution is considered indirect. The methodology also ensures that overlapping project areas are counted only once, which helps avoid double counting. Direct impact is always calculated first, followed by indirect impact.
The results shown in the figures confirm this scale of impact.
Contributions span multiple SDG 6 areas, with strong reach in Integrated Water Resources Management at 2,038,977 people (SDG 6.5) and safe drinking water at 1,352,833 people (SDG 6.1).
Country-level data highlights significant contributions from partners, including Burkina Faso with 1,726,933 people reached and Ethiopia with 954,084 people reached , alongside impact in the Palestinian Territories, Mali, Kenya, Lao PDR, Jordan, Ghana, Suriname, and Tanzania.
Moving forward in difficult times
The context of 2025 was not easy. Geopolitical tensions increased and budgets for international cooperation were under pressure. At the same time, responsibilities within Waternet changed, placing additional demands on our organisation and partners.
Despite this, we continued to move forward with focus and determination.Despite this, we moved forward. We sharpened our focus. We strengthened our position. And we delivered the highest impact and turnover in our 18-year history. -Frodo van Oostveen, Word Waternet CEO
This reflects the strength of our partnerships and the resilience of the people behind them.
Looking ahead
Looking to 2026, the Annual Report sets out a hopeful direction. World Waternet’s 2030 promise of reaching 6 million people is still far away, but 2026 will bring the organisation closer to this number.
We expect impact to grow through new large-scale projects, including the BRIGHT-project in Ethiopia, and through existing projects that will reach more people, such as Non-Revenue Water plans in Lao PDR.
The direction is steady and clear: strengthen water organisations, support local leadership and work together towards healthy water cycles.
Download the full World Waternet 2025 Annual Report to explore the stories behind the numbers, our governing principles, our impact measurement methodology, and the voices of the colleagues and partners who make this work possible.
