By Abdullahi Lukman
The United Nations has launched a new flagship report on Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) and a series of country acceleration studies aimed at advancing global progress on clean water and sanitation.
The publications were unveiled during the sixth annual SDG 6 Special Event, held alongside the 2026 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), to support the global review of progress on water and sanitation.
The 2026 SDG 6 Country Acceleration Case Studies highlight successful policies and practical approaches adopted in China’s Zhejiang Province, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Uzbekistan, offering replicable models for accelerating access to safe water and sanitation.
The report builds on similar case studies published since 2022, featuring countries including Costa Rica, Pakistan, Senegal, Brazil, Ghana, Singapore, Cambodia, Czechia, Jordan, Bhutan, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia.
Titled “Ten Years of SDG 6 and the Path to 2030+”, the 2026 SDG 6 Synthesis Report provides updated global data on water and sanitation, identifies key drivers of national progress and outlines policy actions needed to accelerate achievement of the goal.
According to the report, countries have recorded measurable progress over the past decade, but advances remain uneven and insufficient to meet the 2030 targets.
It also emphasises that water has become a critical driver of broader sustainable development and calls for a shift from incremental improvements to transformative action.
The report further stresses the need for stronger international cooperation on water and sanitation beyond 2030, describing enhanced multilateral action as essential to achieving lasting progress.
The publications are expected to inform discussions at the 2026 and 2028 UN water conferences, contribute to preparations for the 2027 SDG Summit and guide future global efforts to expand access to clean water and sanitation.
