Monitoring Water and Sanitation in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: An Introduction

Water and sanitation, as absolute necessities for people, the planet and prosperity, are at the very core of sustainable development. In embarking upon the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a dedicated goal on water and sanitation, credible data are needed to underpin sector advocacy, stimulate political commitment, inform decision-making and trigger well-placed investments targeted towards optimum health, environment and economic gains. At present, there are several global initiatives monitoring different aspects of the water sector, but a coherent framework is missing. To fulfil this need, Integrated Monitoring of Water and Sanitation Related SDG Targets – GEMI is currently developing, integrating and expanding existing efforts to ensure harmonized monitoring of the entire water cycle. Focusing on aspects related to water, wastewater and ecosystem resources, GEMI complements the World Health Organization (WHO) / United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICFE) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) and UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) efforts on drinking water and sanitation. Together, JMP, GEMI and GLAAS will be able to monitor global progress towards the entirety of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6.