Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6 or Global Goal 6) focuses on providing "clean water and sanitation for all." It is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals created by the United Nations General Assembly to replace the previous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The United Nations states that the main goal is to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." This goal includes eight targets to be met by 2030, covering areas such as water supply, sanitation, and managing water resources wisely. Progress toward these targets will be measured using eleven specific indicators.

The six key outcome targets to be achieved by 2030 include:

The two ways to reach these targets are to increase international help and support for developing countries and to involve local communities in managing water and sanitation sustainably.

Although Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding for water projects reached $9 billion in 2018, a 2017 report by the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) of WHO and UNICEF showed that 4.5 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation. In 2017, only 71% of the world’s population had access to safely managed drinking water, and 2.2 billion people did not. Other water-related problems, such as flooding and drought, continue to pose serious risks to human health and well-being.

Like other Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 6 is closely connected to the other SDGs. For example, access to clean water improves health and well-being, helping achieve SDG 3. Better health also increases school attendance, supporting SDG 4, which focuses on quality education. Achieving SDG 6 can only happen if progress is made on other SDGs as well.

Background

The United Nations (UN) has stated that having access to clean water and sanitation is a basic human right. However, only a small number of countries have created laws that can be used to ensure this right, making it hard for people to use legal methods to improve access. Even in countries like South Africa, where the right to water and sanitation is clearly written in the constitution, it has been difficult to get legal help when needed.

A 2020 review by the UN found that increasing financial support from donors for water-related projects will be important to reach Goal 6.

In 2022, the OECD estimated that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 will require about $1 trillion in global spending on water each year.

Targets, indicators and progress

SDG 6 has eight targets, two of which are called "implementing targets." Six targets aim to be achieved by 2030, one by 2020, and one has no specific year. Each target has one or two indicators to measure progress. In total, 11 indicators are used to monitor SDG 6. The main data sources for these targets and indicators come from the Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6, coordinated by UN-Water.

The six "outcome-oriented targets" include: providing safe and affordable drinking water for all; ending open defecation and ensuring access to sanitation and hygiene; improving water quality and wastewater treatment; increasing water-use efficiency and ensuring fresh water supplies; implementing integrated water resources management; and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems. The two "means of achieving" targets are: expanding water and sanitation support to developing countries and supporting local involvement in water and sanitation management.

The first three targets focus on drinking water supply, sanitation services, and wastewater treatment and reuse.

An SDG 6 Baseline Report from 2018 stated that "less than 50 percent of countries have comparable baseline estimates for most SDG 6 global indicators."

The full title of Target 6.1 is: "By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all." This target has one indicator: Indicator 6.1.1, which measures the "Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services." A "safely managed drinking water service" is defined as "drinking water from an improved water source that is located on premises, available when needed, and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination."

The full title of Target 6.2 is: "By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations." This target includes toilets at schools and workplaces to support education and employment. It has one indicator: Indicator 6.2.1, which measures the "Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water." "Safely managed sanitation" is defined as "use of improved facilities that are not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or transported and treated offsite." Improved sanitation facilities are those designed to hygienically separate excreta from human contact.

Ending open defecation requires providing toilets for 2.6 billion people and changing behaviors. To meet SDG 6.2 by 2030, nearly "a third of countries will need to accelerate progress, including Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Pakistan." This will require cooperation between governments, civil society, and the private sector.

Targets 6.1 and 6.2 are often reported together because they are part of the WASH sector and share the same custodian agency, the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP).

In June 2019, the JMP released a 138-page report titled "Progress on household drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene 2000-2017: special focus on inequalities." The report stated that in 2017, 5.3 billion people—71% of the world’s population—used "safely managed drinking-water services," which are "located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination." By 2017, 6.8 billion people—90% of the world’s population—used "at least a basic service," which includes "an improved drinking-water source within a round trip of 30 minutes to collect water." However, 785 million people still lacked even a basic drinking-water service, including 144 million who relied on surface water.

The report noted that about 2 billion people used drinking water contaminated with feces, which spreads diseases like diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio, causing about 485,000 diarrheal deaths each year. It warned that 50% of the global population will live in water-stressed areas by 2025.

By 2017, 80 countries provided clean water to more than 99% of their population. From 2000 to 2017, the global population without access to clean water decreased from nearly 20% to about 10%. In 2017, 22% of health care facilities in the least developed countries had no water service, with similar numbers lacking sanitation and waste management.

According to the 2017 JMP baseline estimate, 4.5 billion people currently lack safely managed sanitation. Globally, the proportion of the population using safely managed sanitation services increased from 28% in 2000 to 45% in 2017. Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and East and Southeast Asia saw the largest increases. In 2017, 701 million people still practiced open defecation, a number that dropped to 673 million by 2020.

Target 6.3 is: "By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, and minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally." This target has two indicators: (1) the "Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated" and (2) the "Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality." Preliminary estimates from 79 mostly high- and higher-middle income countries in 2019 showed that in about one quarter of these countries, less than half of household wastewater was treated safely.

Preserving natural water sources is important for achieving safe and affordable drinking water.

Target 6.4 is: "By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of fresh water to address water scarcity and reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity." This target has two indicators: (1) "Change in water-use efficiency over time" and (2) "Level of water stress: fresh water withdrawal as a proportion of available fresh water resources." Water stress is calculated as Total Fresh Water Withdrawn (TFWW) divided by Total Renewable Fresh Water Resources (TRWR), adjusted for Environmental Flows Requirements (EFR). In 2017, Central and Southern Asia and

Custodian agencies

Custodian agencies are responsible for reporting on the following indicators:

• Indicator 6.1.1 and 6.2.1: Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP). The JMP is a shared program between UNICEF and WHO that collects and organizes data to track progress for Target 6.1 and Target 6.2.
• Indicator 6.3.1: UN-Habitat and WHO
• Indicator 6.3.2: Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (GEMS/Water), International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (UNESCO-IHP), Federal Institute of Hydrology, Germany, University College Cork, Ireland
• Indicators 6.4.1 and 6.4.2: FAOSTAT – AQUASTAT
• Indicator 6.5.1: United Nations Environment Programme – DHI Centre
• Indicator 6.5.2: UNECE and UNESCO-IHP
• Indicator 6.6.1: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• Indicators 6.a.1 and 6.b.1: UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS)

Challenges

Climate change makes it harder to reach SDG 6 Target 1, which aims to provide everyone with safe drinking water. This happens because climate change can cause more frequent and severe weather events, such as droughts, heavy rain, and extreme temperatures. These events can damage water systems and reduce the availability of water.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it harder for water utilities to meet SDG 6 by reducing the money they received, which would have been used for important investments.

The pandemic also had a big impact on people living in urban slums, where many lack access to clean water. It showed how important sanitation, hygiene, and access to clean water are for preventing illness. According to the World Health Organization, handwashing is one of the best ways to stop the spread of germs and prevent sickness, including the COVID-19 virus.

Monitoring progress

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires regular monitoring and checks to ensure progress is moving in the right direction and at the right speed. The United Nations Secretary-General publishes detailed reports on the progress of all SDGs. Updates and information about the SDGs can also be found on the official SDG website, which is managed by the United Nations.

In April 2020, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated, "Today, Sustainable Development Goal 6 is not on track" and that it "is slowing down progress toward the 2030 Agenda, the realization of human rights, and the achievement of peace and security worldwide."

Experts and professionals continue to discuss the best ways to measure progress toward SDG6. Some support methods that focus on resources, while others prefer methods that consider people's experiences. Experience-based measures, such as the "Household Water Insecurity Experiences" (HWISE) scale, have been helpful in evaluating SDG progress, studying water insecurity, and monitoring development programs.

Links with other SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are connected to each other. Providing clean water and sanitation for everyone is an important step toward achieving many other SDGs. Experts in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) say that progress on Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) is necessary to reach other goals and targets.

For example, better sanitation can create more jobs (SDG 8), which helps the economy grow. Progress on Goal 6 improves health (SDG 3) and fairness in society (SDG 16). Recycling resources from waste, such as nutrients, water, and energy, helps achieve Goal 12 (using resources wisely) and Goal 2 (ending hunger). Managing sanitation and wastewater properly in cities supports Goal 11 (sustainable cities) and Goal 1 (ending poverty).

Sanitation systems that focus on reusing resources are gaining more attention. These systems can help achieve at least fourteen SDGs, especially in cities.

Organizations

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) works to help reach Targets 6.2 and 6.3. Many groups around the world, including Oxfam, UNICEF, WaterAid, small nonprofit organizations, universities, research centers, private companies, and government groups, are part of SuSanA. These groups are all working together to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6.