Report: State of the world's drinking water

The report is a comprehensive survey of what we know about the links between water, health, and development, with actionable recommendations to reach Sustainable Development Goal targets on access to safe drinking water.

The report warns that if the world is to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and mitigate the effects of climate change, governments must invest strategically in building safe drinking water systems – meaning not only increasing funding, but strengthening capacities to plan, coordinate, and regulate service provision. It is illustrated by many examples of how countries have addressed the challenge of providing safely managed drinking water to their populations. The report outlines ways in which governments can meaningfully enact sustainable improvements, even with limited budgets and while capacity is developing, understanding that ultimately a comprehensive approach with political leadership is required, addressing infrastructure, governance, finance, capacity development, data and information and innovation – the five accelerators of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework. 

• Download the report here.

Watch the official report launch live on 25 October via UN Web TV

The State of the World's Drinking Water report will be launched officially at 1:15 pm US EST on 25 October on the sidelines of the PGA Preparatory Meeting for the 2023 UN Water Conference.

The session will start with a concise presentation on the current status of drinking water, drawing on data sources such as the WHO/UNICEF JMP and the UN-Water GLAAS. The recommendations of the report, which follow the structure of the SDG6 Acceleration Framework, will then be presented. A discussion will take place with government representatives that have used a combination of accelerators to achieve inspiring progress in their countries and with partners on what the report means in terms of actions and priorities.

• For more details, please refer to the agenda and concept note here.
• Follow the launch live on UN Web TV.