Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Billions of people still lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, despite improvement in the provision of these basic services. Water scarcity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, and conflicts and climate change are exacerbating the issue. Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world.
In addition, water pollution is a significant challenge that affects both human health and the environment in many countries.

Today, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Climate change is exacerbating the situation, with increasing disasters such as floods and droughts. 80 percent of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, and 70 percent of the world’s natural wetland extent has been lost, including a significant loss of freshwater species.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional impediment, impairing access for billions of people to safely manage drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services – services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading.

Boosting infrastructure investment, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and addressing climate change are key to getting SDG6 back on track.

Sources: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6 https://sdgs.un.org/topics/water-and-sanitation