Access to safe water and sanitation and sound management of freshwater ecosystems are essential to human health and to environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.

• In 2015, 6.6 billion people (over 90 per cent of the world’s population) used improved drinking water sources and 4.9 billion people (over two thirds of the world’s population) used improved sanitation facilities. In both cases, people without access live predominantly in rural areas. Achieving universal access to basic sanitation and ending the unsafe practice of open defecation will require substantial acceleration of progress in rural areas of Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Effective water and sanitation management relies on the participation of a range of stakeholders, including local communities. A 2016-2017 survey found that over 80 per cent of 74 responding countries had clearly defined procedures for engaging service users/communities in water and sanitation management.
• More than 2 billion people globally are living in countries with excess water stress, defined as the ratio of total freshwater withdrawn to total renewable freshwater resources above a threshold of 25 per cent. Northern Africa and Western Asia experience water stress levels above 60 per cent, which indicates the strong probability of future water scarcity.
• In 2012, 65 per cent of the 130 countries that responded to a survey on integrated water resources management reported that management plans were in place at the national level.
• ODA for the water sector has been rising steadily, but has remained relatively constant as a proportion of total ODA disbursements, at approximately 5 per cent since 2005. In 2015, ODA disbursements in the water sector totalled about $8.6 billion, which represents an increase of 67 per cent in real terms since 2005.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2017/66

Too many people still lack access to safely managed water supplies and sanitation facilities. Water scarcity, flooding and lack of proper wastewater management also hinder social and economic development. Increasing water efficiency and improving water management are critical to balancing the competing and growing water demands from various sectors and users.

• In 2015, 29 per cent of the global population lacked safely managed drinking water supplies, and 61 per cent were without safely managed sanitation services. In 2015, 892 million people continued to practise open defecation.
• In 2015, only 27 per cent of the population in LDCs had basic handwashing facilities.
• Preliminary estimates from household data of 79 mostly high- and high-middle-income countries (excluding much of Africa and Asia) suggest that 59 per cent of all domestic wastewater is safely treated.
• In 22 countries, mostly in the Northern Africa and Western Asia region and in the Central and Southern Asia region, the water stress level is above 70 per cent, indicating the strong probability of future water scarcity.
• In 2017–2018, 157 countries reported average implementation of integrated water resources management of 48 per cent.
• Based on data from 62 out of 153 countries sharing transboundary waters, the average percentage of national transboundary basins covered by an operational arrangement was only 59 per cent in 2017.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Despite progress, billions of people still lack safe water, sanitation and handwashing facilities. Data suggests that achieving universal access to even basic sanitation service by 2030 would require doubling the current annual rate of progress. More efficient use and management of water are critical to addressing the growing demand for water, threats to water security and the increasing frequency and severity of droughts and floods resulting from climate change. As of the time of writing, most countries are unlikely to reach full implementation of integrated water resources management by 2030.

• Globally, the proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services increased from 61 to 71 per cent between 2000 and 2015 and remained unchanged in 2017. An additional 19 per cent of the global population used basic drinking water services. This means that 785 million people still lacked even a basic drinking water service.
• The global population using safely managed sanitation services increased from 28 per cent in 2000 to 43 per cent in 2015 and to 45 per cent in 2017, with the greatest increases occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and East and South-East Asia. Between 2000 and 2017, the proportion lacking even a basic sanitation service decreased from 44 to 27 per cent, yet 701 million people still practiced open defecation in 2017. E/2019/68 19-07404 13/39
• In 2017, some 60 per cent of people worldwide and only 38 per cent in least developed countries had a basic handwashing facility with soap and water at home, leaving an estimated 3 billion people without basic handwashing facilities at home.
• In 2016, one third of all primary schools lacked basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, affecting the education of millions of schoolchildren, but particularly girls managing menstruation, and one in four health-care facilities worldwide lacked basic water services, affecting more than 2 billion people.
• Approximately one third of countries have medium or high levels of water stress. Almost all countries that have registered high water stress are located in North Africa and West Asia or in Central and South Asia, and these levels indicate serious water difficulties in the supply of freshwater, at least during parts of the year.
• Of 172 countries, 80 per cent have medium-low implementation or better of integrated water resources management. However, 60 per cent of countries are unlikely to reach the target of full implementation by 2030.
• A significant effort is needed to ensure that cooperation is operational in all transboundary basins. According to data from 67 of 153 countries that share transboundary waters, the average percentage of national transboundary basins covered by an operational arrangement was 59 per cent in the period 2017–2018, with only 17 countries reporting that all their transboundary basins were covered by such arrangements.
• Following several years of steady increases and after reaching $9 billion in 2016, ODA disbursements to the water sector declined by 2 per cent from 2016 to 2017. However, ODA commitments to the water sector jumped by 36 per cent between 2016 and 2017, indicating a renewed focus by donors on the sector.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, Special edition: progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

• Water and sanitation are at the very core of sustainable development, critical to the survival of people and the planet. Goal 6 not only addresses the issues relating to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, but also the quality and sustainability of water resources worldwide.
• In 2015, 4.9 billion people globally used an improved sanitation facility; 2.4 billion did not. Among those lacking adequate sanitation were 946 million people without any facilities at all, who continued to practise open defecation. In 2015, 68 per cent of the global population was using improved sanitation facilities compared to 59 per cent in 2000. Nevertheless, the unsafe management of faecal waste and wastewater continues to present a major risk to public health and the environment.
• More progress has been made in access to drinking water. In 2015, 6.6 billion people, or 91 per cent of the global population, used an improved drinking water source, versus 82 per cent in 2000. Despite that improvement, an estimated 663 million people were using unimproved water sources or surface water that year. While coverage was around 90 per cent or more in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania, widespread inequalities persist within and among countries. Moreover, not all improved sources are safe. For instance, in 2012 it was estimated that at least 1.8 billion people were exposed to drinking water sources contaminated with faecal matter.
• Holistic management of the water cycle means taking into account the level of “water stress”, calculated as the ratio of total fresh water withdrawn by all major sectors to the total renewable fresh water resources in a particular country or region. Currently, water stress affects more than 2 billion people around the world, a figure that is projected to rise. Already, water stress affects countries on every continent and hinders the sustainability of natural resources, as well as economic and social development. In 2011, 41 countries experienced water stress, an increase from 36 countries in 1998. Of those, 10 countries, on the Arabian Peninsula, in Central Asia and in Northern Africa, withdrew more than 100 per cent of their renewable fresh water resources.
• Integrated water resources management, one of the follow-up actions to the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg Plan of Implementation), aims to address this urgent situation. In 2012, 65 per cent of the 130 countries that responded to a survey question on integrated water resources management reported that management plans were in place at the national level.
• Total official flows for water and sanitation were $10 billion in 2014, of which total aid flows from DAC donors amounted to $8 billion. Aid for water and sanitation nearly doubled as a share of ODA during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990). Since that time, on average, it has remained at around 7 per cent of total aid flows. Better targeting and tracking of water aid within the context of national situations is needed. For instance, numerous countries with limited access to water supply and/or sanitation have been receiving minimal external assistance (typically less than $2 per capita annually), while other countries with higher levels of access have received much more (at least $30 per capita a year).
• Effective water and sanitation management also depends on the participation of stakeholders. According to a 2013-2014 Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water survey, 83 per cent of the 94 countries surveyed reported that procedures for stakeholder participation were clearly defined in law or policy. In the Sustainable Development Goals, the focus is being refined to also include the participation of local communities, which will be captured in the next cycle of Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water monitoring.