Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 6 – and within it specific targets on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) – shows that world leaders understand the importance of making these essentials normal for the world's most marginalised people. 

Despite progress, 844 million people still don’t have clean water close to home, and 2.3 billion don’t have a decent toilet. It’s costing lives, and preventing families, communities and countries from reaching their full potential.

This crisis is a denial of people’s human rights to water and sanitation. Governments aren’t doing enough, and we need to hold them to account and make sure they deliver on their promise. Watch our animation to find out why Goal 6 is key to ending extreme poverty:

The hard work to put the SDGs into action has already begun. We are helping governments at all levels to develop plans and policies that will enable them to reach everyone with lasting services, and help countries reach their goals. For example, WaterAid Bangladesh are supporting government's efforts to make sure Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) facilities exist in all schools, which helps to realise:

• SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
• SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable education for all.
• SDG 5: Ensure gender equality and empower all women and girls.
• SDG 6: Ensure availability of water and sanitation for all.
• SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. 

Find out more about MHM in Bangladesh with our exciting interactive feature: 

We are also supporting communities to demand the services they are entitled to, and making sure nobody forgets the promises made. To meet the challenge and make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere, it will take sustained and coordinated efforts by the whole global community. We will continue improving how we work together to reach interconnected goals, and pushing for urgent and effective action because we know that change needs to happen now. We will keep supporting the most marginalised people to know and demand their rights to water and sanitation. And we will track progress so people can hold their governments to account and ensure their rights are met with sustainable services that last long beyond 2030.

To find out more about the Sustainable Development Goals and the vital role of clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in an integrated approach to tackling poverty, hunger, health and inequality, download our Global Goals toolkit >