World Water Week: HBF Panel Discussion

Humanitarian Blended Finance for Water: Beyond Grants for Sustainable Impact

At World Water Week 2025, our online panel discussion will explore how Humanitarian Blended Finance (HBF) can align public and private interests with humanitarian and development needs to deliver lasting solutions.

In 2024, 47% of humanitarian needs went unfunded. With climate change and conflict intensifying pressures – especially in the water sector – and donors retreating, looking beyond grants is no longer optional. As 80% of humanitarian needs are recurrent and protracted, there is a critical opportunity to shift funding burdens toward public-private investments.

Our panel discussion will examine four pathways for humanitarian actors in blended finance: Enabling, Convening, Advising, and Implementing, draw on insights from real life experiences and identify new pipeline opportunities.

Join us on 25 August, 15:00–16:00 CEST (online) for this high-level panel of leading experts from the private sector, the UN and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – all moderated by Ulrika Modéer, Secretary General, Swedish Red Cross.

The World Water Week 2025 focuses on addressing the linked emergencies of climate change, environment degradation and biodiversity loss, emphasizing both mitigation and adaptation alongside the broader goal of enhancing resilience. The event will explore the entire water cycle, from freshwater to oceans, and highlight the importance of protecting natural ecosystems that are essential for climate stability and biodiversity. Equity and climate justice will be central to the discussions, ensuring that vulnerable communities are not left behind in the global response to climate change.