Water for the World Priority Countries
High Priority Countries
Under the U.S. Global Water Strategy, the U.S. Government will focus its efforts on those countries where the needs are greatest, and where U.S. engagement can best protect our national-security interests.
Within this set of countries, pursuant to Section 136 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended by the Water for the World Act of 2014, 18 countries have been designated as high priority for Fiscal Year 2021 (October 2020–September 2021). The selection of these high-priority countries was based on the following factors, in the context of U.S. foreign-policy interests:
- Level of need
- Host government’s commitment, capacity, and ability to work with the United States
- Opportunities to leverage U.S. support with the private sector and other donor partners
- The likelihood of making significant improvements in the health, educational, and economic opportunities available to women and girls
Strategic Priority Countries
Strategic priority countries are countries where USAID anticipates continued water and sanitation programs due to a combination of strategic considerations and water-related development needs.
Priority Countries
Read Water for the World Country Plans
As required by the Water for the World Act of 2014, USAID has developed multi-year, country-specific plans for each of the high-priority countries, which describe how the Agency will implement the Strategy in that country (in part through U.S. foreign assistance). The USAID Water and Development Plan includes summary overviews of each high-priority country plan. The full-length high priority country plans, accessible via country plan pages on globalwaters.org, represent a coordinated approach to address water and sanitation, and also align with host-country priorities, and complement programs by other U.S. government departments and agencies.
Indicates High Priority Country 
Indicates Strategic Priority Country 
Indicates Strategy Aligned CountryPOLICY & LEGAL FRAMEWORK
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Report USAID Global Water and Development Report FY 2018–2019 |
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Overview Water for the World Priority Country Plans |
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Strategy and Guidance 2017 U.S. Government Global Water Strategy |
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Website Sustainable Development Goals - Target 6 |
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Legislation Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014 |