UN SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation: Scaling Solutions for 2030 and Beyond

By Elena Kosolapova and Lynn Wagner, IISD

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) (clean water and sanitation) will undergo an in-depth review at the United Nations (UN) High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), taking place from 7-15 July at UN Headquarters in New York. The adoption of SDG 6 in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marked the first time the entire water cycle was captured in a single internationally agreed global framework. A decade into its implementation, this will be the third time the Forum has reviewed SDG 6.

The 2026 edition of the UN SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation – a flagship publication produced by UN-Water Members and Partners – serves as the UN system’s collective input to HLPF 2026. Under the theme ‘Ten Years of SDG 6 and the Path to 2030+,’ the report provides the latest SDG 6 data, identifies drivers of national progress and policy reform, and positions water as an accelerator of broader sustainable development up to 2030 and beyond. Like earlier iterations in 2023 and 2018, the 2026 report draws on the latest available data on SDG 6 progress, trends, and challenges, and will be launched during the sixth annual SDG 6 Special Event during the HLPF.

In addition to supporting the HLPF’s review of SDG 6, the report will inform preparations for the 2026 and 2028 UN conferences on water, among other global processes, as well as early discussions taking place ahead of the 2027 SDG Summit. The SDG 6 Synthesis Report’s findings will also contribute to the review of the overall implementation of the Pact for the Future in 2028 – and help shape global water governance beyond 2030.

This Policy Brief unpacks the key takeaways from the report by taking stock of progress, identifying lessons from a decade of SDG 6 implementation, and charting the course for water and sanitation to 2030 – and beyond.

Ten years in: Results are real, but the pace of progress is too slow and uneven

A decade into the 2030 Agenda, the UN SDG 6 Synthesis Report points to measurable year-on-year improvements in the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

Since 2015, nearly a billion people have gained access to safely managed drinking water services, with coverage now extending to nearly three-quarters of the global population. More than a billion people – nearly 60% of global population – have gained access to safely managed sanitation. Global water use efficiency is up nearly 20%. And more and more countries are adopting and implementing national frameworks for integrated water resources management (IWRM).

Furthermore, some regions and countries show signs of acceleration in several areas, according to the report. This is true for water efficiency gains in Northern Africa and Western Asia and rural coverage for drinking water in Central and Southern Asia. The report also suggests that signs of deceleration of negative trends – likereductions in the number of freshwater systems in a state of degradation in Oceania – may be considered further evidence of improvement. While not universal, the report argues that these trends signify areas where strengthened implementation and monitoring may be contributing to faster progress.

At the same time, progress on SDG 6 remains uneven and insufficient, with implementation gaps persisting. There are areas showing signs of stagnation and even decline revealing the need for targeted course correction. For example, the report reveals broad regional disparities on household wastewater flows safely treated, critically high water stress in several regions, and the need for more effective revenue raising for IWRM and infrastructure in 85% of countries.

Evidence from selected indicators shows that while monitoring and data availability have improved, structural constraints such as persistent data gaps, institutional fragmentation, methodological complexities, and capacity limitations – particularly in lower-income regions – also continue to pose significant challenges.

The report argues that further acceleration is urgently needed to achieve global targets by 2030: “Achieving universal coverage by 2030 will require an eightfold increase in current rates of progress for safely managed drinking water, a sixfold increase for safely managed sanitation, and a twofold increase for basic hygiene services.”

Lessons from a decade of implementation: What drives progress?

Looking back at ten years of implementation, the report underscores that results are tangible, trends and gaps are known, and accelerating progress for selected SDG 6 indicators in some countries and regions is encouraging. It highlights valuable lessons from a decade of efforts, including that SDG 6 implementation has:

Elevated water and sanitation as a political priority at all levels;
Shaped policy development, fostered harmonization, and inspired innovative approaches;
Provided an entry point for strengthened coordination and cooperation across sectors and levels;
Catalyzed stakeholder action and generated strong support for a dedicated water and sanitation goal beyond 2030; and
Strengthened UN system-wide coordination and delivery of water and sanitation priorities.

However, the report finds that under-resourcing has constrained implementation efforts, with progress being heavily dependent on strong regulatory frameworks, adequate capacity, and sufficient investment. And while SDG 6 implementation has proved a catalyst of stakeholder action, it notes that policy targets need to better connect with operational delivery.

The report underscores the urgent need for better alignment of political commitments and goals with implementation capacity and investment to accelerate and scale progress: “Moving from incremental and uneven progress to transformative change will require maintaining ‘what is working’ while making improvements to the systems, means and processes required to implement SDG 6 better going forward.”

Scaling solutions for 2030 and beyond

The report acknowledges that current shifts in the global context are altering the scale, nature, and interconnections of water- and sanitation-related challenges as we enter the final stretch of the 2030 Agenda. Some of these factors offer opportunities to drive water action, including:

Advances in science, technology, and innovation can help better understand the changing water cycle.
The evolving landscape of finance and capacity development can generate new approaches to establish the right financial and institutional architecture to accelerate SDG 6 delivery.
Water is increasingly seen as a “superconnector” for SDG acceleration and can serve as a critical driver of sustainable development transitions, also in emerging economic sectors, to 2030 and beyond.
Rising SDG 6 ambition generates further opportunities for countries to mainstream water and sanitation issues in their deliberations at the UN, including within other policy areas.

The report concludes that the UN system is poised to respond to Member States’ rising ambition and to scale up implementation of the UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation. However, falling official development assistance (ODA) presents a significant challenge, putting UN water and sanitation programmesunder threat.

Building on the lessons from ten years of experience amid the changing landscape, the report offers a forward-looking perspective for the approach towards 2030 and beyond. It identifies the period from 2026 to 2028 as a strategic window of opportunity to determine the future of water and sanitation within intergovernmental processes.

The report highlights two political processes that can be instrumental in elevating water and sanitation on the UN intergovernmental agenda: the 2026 UN Water Conference, linked to the HLPF’s review of SDG 6; and the UN 2028 Water Conference, which respectively serves as the final comprehensive review of the Water Action Decade 2018-2028. These intertwined processes, the report argues, present strategic opportunities to build consensus towards future UNGA mandates beyond the endpoints of the Water Action Decade and 2030 Agenda.

The road ahead

The UN SDG 6 Synthesis Report shows that after ten years of implementing SDG 6 progress is already happening at scale. However, while national plans are yielding results and stakeholder support is at an all-time high, much remains to be done. Gains remain uneven and incremental, with implementation gaps persisting.

The potential positive impact of achieving SDG 6 – “availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” – is unparalleled. With less than five years until 2030, this is a critical juncture to bridge the gap between potential and reality. Through better resourcing, sharper execution, deeper partnerships, and multilateral cooperation, it will be possible to deliver more tangible results for people, prosperity, and the planet towards 2030 and beyond.

The report ends with a compelling case for a dedicated water goal post-2030 and enhanced multilateral efforts that can drive lasting, systemic impact.

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This policy brief was developed as part of an ongoing collaboration with UN-Water on the UN-Water Dispatch.