The UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (IMI-SDG6) has recently published the 2024 series of indicator reports as well as the 2024 Summary Brief, a document that provides an overview of the key finding across all SDG 6 indicators assessed through official country data.
According to the organization, there are still significant challenges in pursuit of SDG 6 – ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030:
“Data coverage for the corresponding global indicators has improved overall, but, as we approach the midpoint of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world is not on track to achieve the SDG 6 targets by 2030. Despite dedicated efforts and global commitments, we must face the harsh truth that our advancements are falling short of achieving all eight targets of SDG 6. In certain regions and for specific indicators, progress is not only lacking but also regressing“, stated the organization on its website.
Detailed information on each target
The 2024 series of indicator reports¹ are founded on the most recent SDG 6 data compiled and verified by the custodian United Nations agencies during the 2023 Data Drive. Through these reports, IMI-SDG6 aims “to significantly enhance data quality, accessibility and use, offering decision-makers dependable and current evidence to pinpoint areas requiring acceleration”.
¹Read all 2024 indicator reports here.
Below a couple of exempts of the results, as shown in the 2024 Summary Brief
SDG 6.1.1
“Since 2015, coverage of safely managed drinking water services (SDG 6.1.1) has increased from 69 % to 73 %, rising from 56 % to 62 % in rural areas and from 80 % to 81 % in urban areas. However, 2.2 billion people (i.e. 1 in 4 people around the world) still lacked safely managed drinking water in 2022.”
SDG 6.2.1a & SDG 6.2.1b
“Coverage of safely managed sanitation services (SDG 6.2.1a) has increased from 49 % in 2015 to 57 % in 2022, rising from 36 % to 46 % in rural areas and from 60 % to 65 % in urban areas. However, 3.5 billion people (i.e. 2 out of 5 people around the world) still lacked safely managed sanitation in 2022. (…)
Since 2015, coverage of basic hygiene services (SDG 6.2.1b) has increased from 67 % to 75 %, rising from 53 % to 65 % in rural areas but remaining largely unchanged, at 83 %, in urban areas. Data from 2022 reveal that 2 billion people (i.e. 1 in 4 people around the world) still lacked basic hygiene services, including 1.3 billion with limited services and 653 million with no facility.”
SDG 6.3.1
“Significant strides have been made in the reporting of wastewater statistics, although much work remains. The number of countries reporting some wastewater statistics has increased by more than 50 %, from 69 countries in 2015 to 107 countries in 2022. We are still unable to make a comprehensive global estimate of wastewater treatment (SDG 6.3.1) from all sources due to under-reporting. (…)
Reporting on industrial wastewater treatment remains limited, with data only reported from 22 countries representing 8 % of the global population. (…)
Regarding domestic wastewater treatment, data are available from 129 countries representing 89 % of the global population. Households generated an estimated 268 billion m3 of wastewater globally in 2022, of which 155 billion m3 (58 %) was safely treated. This proportion of safely treated domestic wastewater represents a marginal increase (2 percentage points) compared to the previously published estimates for 2020.”
SDG 6.3.2
“As of 2023, significant progress has been made in monitoring ambient water quality (SDG 6.3.2), with 120 countries reporting on the water quality of their water bodies. This represents a notable increase from 89 countries in 2020. Despite this progress, there are still significant regional gaps, particularly in North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. (…)
By 2030, the health and livelihoods of 4.8 billion people could be at risk if the water quality and monitoring of water bodies is not improved. This indicator also suggests that while some countries show improvements in water quality, where significant amounts of data are available, water quality is generally degrading.”
SDG 6.4.1
“From 2015 to 2021, global water use efficiency (SDG 6.4.1) rose from 17.4 USD/m³ to 20.8 USD/m³ (value added in US dollars per volume of water used in cubic meters, from all economic activities over time). This marks a 19.3 % efficiency increase.”
SDG 6.4.2
“Approximately 10 % of the global population lives in areas with high or critical water stress. The monitoring results of water level stress (SDG 6.4.2) show that although the global value remains at a safe level, there is an overall upward trend. Since 2015, global water stress has increased by 2.7 %, reaching 18.6 % in 2021. This trend is attributed to factors such as global population growth, urbanization, improved living standards, changes in dietary habits, and the intensifying impacts of climate change.”
SDG 6.5.1
“At the current rate, the world will not achieve sustainable water management until at least 2049, jeopardizing sustainable development objectives across the board, including water supply, food, and energy security. (…)
Global level political commitments for integrated water resources management (IWRM) to achieve sustainable water management have never been higher. However, progress in implementing IWRM (SDG 6.5.1) remains slow – the global average score increased from 49 % in 2017 to 57 % in 2023 (where a score above 90 % constitutes a “very high” IWRM implementation level, and the target is considered met).”
SDG 6.5.2
“On transboundary water cooperation, only 43 out of 153 UN Member States sharing transboundary waters have operational arrangements covering 90 % or more of their shared rivers, lakes and aquifers (SDG 6.5.2), while at least 20 countries lack any such arrangements.”
SDG 6.6.1.
“A global aggregated analysis of water-related ecosystem data reveals that in 50 % of countries, currently, one or more water-related ecosystem types are in a state of degradation. This equates to more than 90 of the 185 countries reporting on SDG 6.6.1. Transposed to a regional picture, four of the eight SDG regions have 50 % of their countries with a national indicator status score reflecting degraded freshwater ecosystems.”
SDG 6.a.1
“Official development assistance (ODA) disbursements to the water sector (SDG 6.a.1) decreased by 5 % between 2015 and 2022. As a percentage of sectorallocable ODA across all sectors, water sector ODA disbursements have decreased to 5 % in 2022, a historical low, continuing a declining trend accelerated since 2020 and the COVID pandemic. In actual terms, ODA disbursements decreased by 15 % between 2015 and 2021, followed by an increase by 10 % between 2021 and 2022. (…)
The region receiving the largest amount of water sector ODA is consistently Sub-Saharan Africa, which received near 30 % or more of water sector ODA disbursements every year since 2015. Of the ODA specifically allocated to water supply or to sanitation, more is disbursed to water supply (about 60 %) than to sanitation (about 40 %).”
SDG 6.b.1
“Over 90 % of countries reported having procedures, defined in law or policy, for the participation of users and local communities in rural drinking water and water resources management (SDG 6.b.1). However, high or very high participation was reported in less than one third of countries. Participation of users and local communities is constrained by a lack of financial and human resources. Only 17 % of 106 responding countries indicated that they have over 75 % of the financial resources needed to support participation of users and communities in rural drinking water and sanitation planning and management.”
Background information on the Summary Brief
The document was published by UN-Water and its production was coordinated by the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 (IMIS-DG6), including United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Publication
UN-Water, 2024. Summary Brief: Mid-term status of SDG 6 global indicators and acceleration needs. Version: August 2024. Geneva, Switzerland.