In October, Rémi Kaupp, CBSA’s Executive Director, joined government, civil society, and private sector leaders at the 2025 Sector Ministers Meeting in Madrid, organised by Sanitation and Water for All (SWA). The meeting brought together 60 ministers from 45 countries, alongside representatives from civil society, the private sector, utilities, and regulators.
The ministerial dialogues stood out for their peer-to-peer exchanges on integration, financing, climate action, and high-level commitment to water and sanitation. It was encouraging to hear progress on long-term priorities such as integrating water and sanitation in climate plans and coordination mechanisms, while also seeing new areas emerge – including the inclusion of sanitation in National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions.
As part of the private sector delegation, Rémi shared examples of how good public–private partnerships can be part of the solution – from generating new revenue sources such as results-based and climate finance, to increasing resilience, as part of SWA’s wider partnership messages. A recurring theme was how to attract more private finance. While we emphasised that reaching unserved communities will continue to require public subsidy, we also shared lessons from CBSA members: that safe, professional sanitation services are essential, innovative and efficient, require regulation, and present significant investment potential.
The meeting concluded with the launch of the High-Level leaders compact on water security & resilience, which CBSA is proud to endorse.
Throughout the event, we also felt the enduring legacy of Catarina de Albuquerque, SWA’s late CEO, and a renewed commitment to continue her work to make the human rights to water and sanitation a reality for all.
