5 May 2015
UN-Water Outlines Resources Needed for SDG 6 Implementation
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UN-Water has published a report on the implementation of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to water and sanitation.

Currently available in advanced draft form, the publication outlines the resources and inputs necessary to achieve the targets proposed in the report of the Open Working Group on SDGs.

un-water24 April 2015: UN-Water has published a report on the implementation of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to water and sanitation. Currently available in advanced draft form, the publication outlines the resources and inputs necessary to achieve the targets proposed in the report of the Open Working Group on SDGs.

Titled ‘A compilation of aspects on the means of implementation: water and sanitation,’ the report intends to inform ongoing negotiations among UN Member States on the post-2015 development agenda, its means of implementation (MOI), and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3). It offers an introduction to the current context of development financing for water and sanitation, and describes the types of resources, technologies, policies, and actions that will be necessary to meet SDG 6 on “Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”

The seven issue areas of SDG 17 on MOI are highlighted in the paper as necessary “building blocks” to build an enabling environment for water and sanitation, including: finance; technology; capacity-building; trade; policy and institutional coherence; multi-stakeholder partnerships; and data, monitoring, and accountability. Discussing each theme in its relation to SDG 6, the report outlines the necessary steps to mobilize funds, technologies, partnerships, and data collection on the specific issues of drinking water, access to sanitation and hygiene, water resource management and other issues.

The publication finds that while significant resources must be mobilized, the cost-benefit ratio of investing in water and sanitation is very high, with the benefits exceeding the costs between three and six times. Furthermore, it outlines how achieving the targets of SDG 6 will aid in the realization of the agenda’s other goals, though a major mobilization by all actors will be necessary for success. “The world cannot afford not to take timely and commensurate action,” UN-Water argues, calling for major efforts by everyone to achieve implementation. [Publication: A compilation of aspects on the means of implementation: water and sanitation] [UN-Water Website]

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