UN-Water is preparing to launch the ‘SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework’ to support country progress on clean water and sanitation. Members and partners met for an online consultation on the launch, which will take place on the sidelines of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July 2020.

The Framework will support accelerated country progress in five key areas of SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation): financing; data and information; capacity development; innovation; and governance. Among other activities, UN-Water envisions the Framework to include efforts to scale up innovative practices and technologies, and to build trust through data generation, validation, and standardization.

During the virtual meeting on 11 June 2020, Peter Singer, Special Advisor to the Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO), reviewed lessons learned from the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All. Singer noted that an acceleration framework seeks to identify how the multilateral system can work together to speed progress. He said such a framework should not be specific to one SDG, but rather should create an enabling environment that builds a culture of collaboration.

Singer identified five lessons that have been learned through the Global Action Plan focused on SDG 3: 

• UN agencies can help governments, but the focus must be on how national leaders can work together better and develop ownership at all levels;
• developing communities of practice around specific issues adds value to the Plan;
• learn by doing, gather empirical evidence, and step back after nine months to identify where clusters of activity are forming and evaluate different levels of progress;
• incentives matter, within and among organizations; and 
• bring a heavy COVID-19 lens to the acceleration framework, because it is changing the way we work together. 

Participants on the call were briefed on plans for the “SDG 6 Action Space,” which will be one of the accountability measures for the Framework. This virtual space will be hosted on the UN-Water website and will seek to inform users about the Framework and other stakeholders’ resources. It will also have a space to record individual commitments, to provide others with ideas for the types of action they can take. The platform will be integrated with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (DESA) platform of ‘SDG Acceleration Actions.’

UN-Water is organizing the Special Event during the HLPF to launch the Global Acceleration Framework. The event will take place virtually from 8:30-10:00 am EST on 9 July 2020. Speakers from the UN, Member States, civil society, and the private sector will discuss their support for SDG 6. [SDG Knowledge Hub sources]