SDG target: Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.
The chart below shows the wrong thing: It suggests progress will only come from sewer connections, wastewater treatment plants, and other expensive infrastructure that is impractical in many places. The SDGs rightly established a new, “safely managed” sanitation goal to help track and improve sanitation systems used by billions in low-income countries. The challenge is that leaders don’t yet have enough data to measure safely managed sanitation or target key areas for improvement. If countries are serious about SDG 6, it is critical that more of them start reporting to the Joint Monitoring Project of UNICEF and the WHO.
Below is the global progress on this indicator since 1990. Explore progress for specific countries using the drop-down menu below the chart.
