To mark World Water Day 2026, PSIRU researcher Dr Emanuele Lobina has written an article for Public Services International (PSI). It calls on the international community to prioritise public water and public financing to accelerate progress towards realising the human rights to water and sanitation and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6.
It is backed by the interim findings of a forthcoming report commissioned by PSI from the Public Services Research Unit (PSIRU) to review and analyse the policy recommendations of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW).
Lobina stresses that water and sanitation are vital public services. Drawing on PSIRU research, the article highlights the development potential of public ownership and public finance in delivering water and sanitation services with quality, equity, and safety at the centre of international efforts. Lobina calls on the international community to learn from the lessons of history and points to a number of specific and actionable policy recommendations.
Dr. Emanuele Lobina is Associate Professor in Water Service Reform at the Greenwich Business School, University of Greenwich, and coordinator of PSIRU’s research on water.
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