Brazil’s Paraíba Secures $50 Million to Build Stronger Water and Sanitation Services

Paraíba is among Brazil’s poorest states, with 47.4 per cent of its population living in poverty, and much of its territory sits within the “Polygon of Droughts,” one of the world’s hottest semiarid regions.

For families in Brazil's Paraíba State, reliable drinking water and safe sanitation remain closely tied to where they live and how severely drought affects their communities. A new project supported by US$50 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank Group, will help the state strengthen its water management systems and expand resilient services in urban and rural areas. The investment addresses both the infrastructure people depend on each day and the institutions responsible for keeping those services running as the climate changes.

A harsher drought cycle raises the stakes

Paraíba is among Brazil's poorest states, with 47.4 per cent of its population living in poverty, and much of its territory sits within the "Polygon of Droughts," one of the world's hottest semiarid regions. Droughts that previously occurred every four to six years now strike approximately every two years, leaving communities less time to recover and making dependable water supplies increasingly difficult to maintain. Climate-driven scarcity deepens social and economic inequality, with vulnerable households bearing the greatest burden when access becomes unreliable.

Stronger monitoring and early warning systems will give the state better information to respond to droughts and floods, supporting decisions about how water resources are managed. The project combines these improvements with investments in urban water supply and safely managed sanitation, with benefits estimated to support the equivalent of approximately 54,000 more and better-paid jobs. That estimate reflects the economic contribution of improved water security and services, rather than a count of direct project hires.

Fixing service gaps across cities and rural communities

The João Pessoa Metropolitan Region, home to approximately 1.4 million people, will receive investment to rehabilitate and expand its wastewater treatment plant and improve its water supply network. Water losses are currently estimated at 45 percent, making network improvements an important part of getting more dependable supplies to residents. Sewage collection reaches only 65 percent of the metropolitan population, revealing a substantial service gap that the sanitation investments will help address.

Preparatory work will lay the foundations for a sanitation public-private partnership covering two microregions, with approximately 2 million urban residents across 85 municipalities expected to benefit. The partnership would support Brazil's sanitation universalization targets by helping create the conditions for broader service provision. In rural communities, where roughly 60 percent of the population lacks continuous access to potable water, the project will strengthen the state's capacity to plan and deliver sustainable water and sanitation services, addressing the practical challenge of keeping systems functioning over time.

Building a regional response that lasts

The investment marks the first phase of the Integrated Water Security Program for Northeast Brazil, a broader multiphase initiative serving one of the country's most water-stressed regions. Participating states will be able to share lessons, expand successful approaches and strengthen coordination, connecting better water governance with climate-resilient infrastructure and improved services. Paraíba's project draws on experience from the ongoing Paraíba Improving Water Resources Management and Services Provision Project, approved in 2019.

Cécile Fruman, World Bank Country Director for Brazil, described the investment as extending beyond infrastructure to the systems, institutions and partnerships needed to manage water as a strategic resource for people, the economy and the environment for generations to come. Her remarks highlighted the severe pressures facing Paraíba's vulnerable communities as climate change compounds its harsh semiarid conditions. Implementation is expected to take six years, with the State Government of Paraíba providing US$23 million in counterpart financing and a further US$1.67 million coming from commercial financing.