Support to UN-Water: accelerating progress on SDG 6


UN-Water is the ‘one voice’ of the UN system on all water and sanitation related issues. It is responsible for the monitoring and reporting of SDG 6, providing coherent and reliable data to strengthen the global water agenda. By maintaining its support to UN-Water, SDC helps to reduce the fragmentation of the water sector and contributes to accelerating the achievement of SDG 6, thus keeping its global commitment towards the 2030 Agenda.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Global
Water
Water sector policy
Water resources conservation
Water sanitation
01.01.2023 - 31.12.2026
CHF  9’100’000
Background SDG 6 is alarmingly off track. Water scarcity is affecting more than 40% of the global population and is projected to rise. Billions of people are still denied their basic human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation services and 40% of the world’s population lack access to basic hand-washing facilities and soap in their homes. Concurrently, data is lacking for almost one-third of the SDG 6 global indicators, and in many cases the reported data rely on few and nonrepresentative data points. Many Member States flag that they lack the necessary technical and institutional capacity, as well as the needed human and financial resources, to maintain and expand their national monitoring systems. Yet, the coming years are critical for the success of all SDGs and particularly of SDG 6. Unless progress accelerates, the world will not reach the SDG 6 targets by 2030.
Objectives Accelerate the achievement of SDG 6 through better informed water and sanitation policy, regulation, planning and investment, as well as strengthening of the global water architecture.
Target groups

-    UN-Water Members and Partners

-    Water sector in its diversity, i.e. civil society, private sector, public sector, multilateral organizations, international finance institutions

-    UN Member States

-    General Public

-    National governments: line ministries, departments and national statistical offices responsible for tracking process towards achieving the SDG targets in countries.

Medium-term outcomes

Outcome 1)    Emerging issues related to water and sanitation are effectively addressed and policy processes are timely informed.

Outcome 2)    Countries collect and report data on all SDG 6 global indicators.

Outcome 3)    Policy- and decision-makers as well as other stakeholders use SDG 6 data.

Outcome 4)    Improved coordination and coherence among UN-Water Members and Partners at all levels is contributing to the positive impact of United Nations family operations on water-related issues.

Results

Expected results:  

-    Data collection and analysis for the SDG 6 Integrated Monitoring Initiative;

-    Technical support, strategic advice and capacity development for monitoring of each SDG 6 global indicator;

-    Coordination of Decade Action Plan implementation (Acceleration Framework);

-    Input to SDG reviews, UN summits (incl. UN 2023 Water Conference), and processes;

-    Technical assistance to UN Country Teams and strengthened regional coordination.


Results from previous phases:   UN-Water played a crucial role in the process of crafting the 2030 Agenda and has since continuously provided support to Member States and the international community on all aspects related to freshwater and sanitation. It informs and engages stakeholders through the World Water Development Report, the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water report, as well as through global campaigns such as World Water Day and World Toilet Day. In a major achievement, UN-Water launched in 2018 the SDG 6 Data Portal as the flagship product of its Integrated Monitoring Initiative, presenting increasingly robust analysis of the global indicators. In 2020, UN-Water conducted its 2nd round of global data collection on the SDG 6 global indicators, and coordinated the development of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework to unify the international community around sustainable water and sanitation for all.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
Private sector
United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • Swiss Private Sector


Other partners
UN-Water through UNOPS
Coordination with other projects and actors

IMI–SDG6, GEMI, JMP/GLAAS;

SDC GPW projects related to UN-Water partners (Global Water Partnership, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, IUCN).

Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    9’100’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    2’687’399
Project phases Phase 1 01.01.2023 - 31.12.2026   (Current phase)