SDG 6 – Clean Water And Sanitation

Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in, and there is enough freshwater on the planet to achieve this. However, due to poor water management or poor infrastructure, millions of people die every year from diseases linked to inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation affect food security, livelihoods and educational opportunities for poor families around the world. Currently, more than two billion people live at risk of limited access to freshwater resources. By 2050, at least one in four is expected to live in a country affected by chronic or recurrent freshwater shortages. Certain droughts affect some of the world’s poorest countries, exacerbating hunger and malnutrition. Fortunately, great progress has been made in the last decade in terms of drinking water sources and sanitation, so that today more than 90 per cent of the world’s population has access to improved drinking water sources.

To improve sanitation and access to drinking water, investment in local freshwater ecosystem management and sanitation facilities needs to be scaled up in several developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Did you know?
In 2017, 785 million people still lacked basic drinking water services.