Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), has been named the 2026 recipient of the Stockholm Water Prize, widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious award for water-related work.
The announcement was made on March 18, 2026 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, ahead of World Water Day. The prize will be formally presented by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf in August during World Water Week in Stockholm.
Madani, 44, is the youngest laureate in the award’s 35-year history, as well as the first UN official and the first former politician to receive the honour.
