- IWA recognises her five decades of leadership in water governance, finance and WASH reforms
- Her pathbreaking initiatives have strengthened water and sanitation systems for over 115 million people
- Award presented at the Water Development Congress 2025
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, DEC 10
Professor Meera Mehta, Professor Emeritus at CEPT University and Senior Advisor at the Centre for Water and Sanitation, has been honoured with the prestigious International Water Association (IWA) 2025 Water and Development Award for Practice, celebrating her five decades of pioneering contribution to water and sanitation governance across the Global South. The award was conferred during the opening ceremony of the IWA Water Development Congress on Monday, December 8, 2025.
Prof Mehta is among three global leaders recognised this year for advancing water security, governance and innovation in low- and middle-income countries. The honour celebrates her long-standing leadership in shaping policy reforms, strengthening institutional capacities and driving data-backed transformation in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.
Her landmark initiatives—including India’s Service Level Benchmarks and the Performance Assessment System—have significantly improved WASH services for more than 115 million people. These frameworks have become global references for evidence-based policymaking and urban water and sanitation system strengthening.
IWA’s recognition highlights Prof Mehta’s enduring impact in building resilient, equitable and accountable water and sanitation systems worldwide.
With over 50 years of experience in water, urban development and infrastructure finance, Prof Mehta has worked across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. She earlier served as Director of the School of Planning at CEPT University, held key roles with USAID’s FIRE-D Project in India and later with the World Bank and its Water and Sanitation Program in Africa. She has consulted for leading international agencies including UNICEF, the World Bank, ADB, WaterAid, HIC and the Government of the Netherlands.
Her significant global contributions include serving on the board of IRC, the Steering Committee of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the WHO–UNICEF working group on post-2015 water and sanitation deliberations. She has also been a member of several national and international technical committees and was one of the Editors of IWA’s WASH Development Journal.
