SPOTL IGHT
“We need a positive circle” Interview with Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations, World Bank Group on the Water Forward initiative and the role of partnerships in development
OPEC Fund Quarterly : Through the Water Forward initiative, the World Bank and partners are putting water security right at the heart of development. Why does that matter now? Anna Bjerde: Water is absolutely essential for humankind. We know that, but what we also are really emphasizing with Water Forward is that economic growth and the creation of jobs cannot happen without secure, clean, reliable and affordable water. The program is about water for people, water for food and water for the planet – and we’re delighted to see so many partnerships coming together with us that we’re going to be connecting one billion people by 2030.
OFQ : How can targeted investment strengthen resilience, jobs and long- term growth? AB: Water is a resource that needs to be managed very carefully and efficiently. One feature that we have identified over the years is the need to
X xxxxx. Xxxx OFQ : How important are partnerships between the World Bank, OPEC Fund and others for pushing this agenda at scale? AB: Partnerships are essential to everything we do. The World Bank Group is now very much focused on a number of global initiatives, so that we can respond to the most pressing development challenges. These need to be addressed at scale, because they resource nobody wants to invest in. Instead we need a positive circle of affordable extraction, good flow and cost recovery. For this we need to invest in infrastructure. reduce water losses. We simply cannot afford this. If water is costly at the extraction and does not reach the end- user or does not generate any revenue at delivery, it becomes an unaffordable are huge: If you’re going to provide one billion people with access to clean water by 2030, we cannot do it alone. By setting these very ambitious targets, we need to work together. These partnerships are critical, and in the case of the OPEC Fund we have a very strong partnership. Today, the OPEC Fund is the seventh largest co-financier to the World Bank Group. We’re delighted about this partnership. I have to really commend the speed at which the OPEC Fund has joined us in many initiatives, demonstrating the scale of impact we can have when we’re working together.
Anna Bjerde
Anna Bjerde is the Managing Director of Operations at the
World Bank and spearheads the work on the world’s most pressing development challenges. She has 30 years of expertise in international development and holds a Master’s in Business and Economics from the University of Stockholm.
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