On 25 October 2024, the Swedish Minister of Development Aid, Benjamin Dousa, announced in an interview published in the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) that Sweden would be initiating action to end the Host Country Agreement with GWPO and withdraw formally from the Organisation.
On 23-25 October, more than 500 representatives of Ministries from about 80 countries responsible for water, environment, foreign affairs and development cooperation – from both Parties and non-Parties to the Water Convention – together with representatives of joint bodies, international and non-governmental organizations, international financial Institutions and academia from all regions of the world meet in Ljubljana, Slovenia for MOP10.
The recent article in Svenska Dagbladet on 19 October, reporting on GWP’s finances, presents a biased and incorrect picture of the organisation. The article fails to take into account the major shift in development aid financing generally that has also affected GWP, and it does not report on the extensive development of programme and project financing that GWP has secured in recent years.
An article published in Svenska Dagbladet on 16 October presents several claims about the travel practices of GWP and its leadership that are misleading and do not accurately reflect the actual circumstances. This response aims to provide a clearer and more accurate picture.
At Global Water Partnership (GWP), we wish to address, clarify and correct the information presented in Svenska Dagbladet's (SvD) recent article regarding our partner database, published on 18 October. The SvD article presents a misleading view of GWP’s operations by focusing solely on one category of partners, misrepresenting key facts, and failing to provide accurate information to its readers about how our organisation works and how it makes effective use of development aid funding.
We are concerned about the recent series of articles published by Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) regarding the Global Water Partnership (GWP). While we respect the role of investigative journalism, these articles present an unfair and misleading portrayal of our organisation.
GWP is announcing an important change in how we answer the question, “How many GWP Partners are there?” The new answer is: “2800+ registered partners – but the real number is significantly higher than that.”
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) expresses deep concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events worldwide, exacerbated by climate change and inadequate water management systems.
Through a high-impact engagement, GWP advanced many of its strategic objectives at the World Water Week 2024, co-convening events and collaborating with global leaders and partners, both longstanding and new, under the theme ‘Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future’. With record participation in Stockholm and online, GWP emphasised water’s critical role in peacebuilding and sustainability, reaffirming its commitment to actionable, cross-border water solutions.