• Introduction
• No Poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Clean Water
• Decent Work
• Reduced Inequalities
• Responsible Consumption
• Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
• Partnerships for the Goals

 

Sustainable Development Goal 6 seeks to ensure the availability of sustainable water and sanitation for everyone, everywhere by the year 2030. This goal aims to ensure access to clean drinking water, hygiene education, and protect water-related ecosystems to avoid unnecessary disease and death, as well as the unnecessary destruction of our natural resources.

• Ensure access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
• End open defecation and provide access to sanitation and hygiene, particularly for women and girls and those in vulnerable circumstances.
• Improve water quality, wastewater treatment, and safe reuse, which involves reducing pollution, eliminating dumping of hazardous materials, and increasing recycling initiatives around the world.
• Increase water-use efficiency and ensure freshwater supplies to decrease water scarcity and increase water supply for those suffering from water scarcity.
• Implement integrated water resources management for the efficient, equitable, and sustainable use of water.
• Protect and ensure water-related ecosystems, particularly freshwater, including lakes, rivers, groundwater, wetlands, and mountains.
• Expand water and sanitation support to developing countries, encompassing the expansion of international cooperation and capacity-building support, as well water and sanitation programmes such as water harvesting, desalination, and wastewater treatment.

The Covid-19 Pandemic had a catastrophic effect on progress towards each of the Sustainable Development Goals and Clean Water and Sanitation is no exception. However, what makes SDG 6 unique is its focus on hygiene and sanitation which was an integral focus throughout the course of the pandemic. Covid-19 brought these issues to the forefront, particularly handwashing. Despite a 4% increase between 2015 and 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic 2.3 billion households lacked basic handwashing facilities, over half of which were in the sub-Saharan Africa region.²³ The investment in accessible and sustainable hygiene is essential to our response to pandemics now and in the future.

The Salvation Army provides water and utility bill assistance throughout North America to help those in need pay their bills and receive fundamental utilities. One such program in Birmingham, Alabama, the H20 Foundation, which is managed and administered by The Salvation Army provides aid for low-income, disabled, and elderly residents who need assistance paying their water and sewer bills, as well as offering plumbing repair.²⁴ In an area where nearly a quarter of the population lives under the poverty line, this a vital service in providing clean water and sanitation.²⁵

Water is essential for agriculture. Climate change has impacted the scope and frequency of irregular and sometimes destructive weather events, particularly those related to water. For the past 5 years, Kenya has suffered from extreme drought that has doubled the level of food insecurity in the country between 2021 and 2022. ²⁶ Agriculture in the region has been severely impacted, with harvests failing and livestock dying. In response, The Salvation Army has established the “Food for Fees” program in Northern which provides food to schools for students in exchange for lower school fees. This program will serve 9 secondary schools and 50 primary schools and provide nutrition while cutting the financial burden for education on students and their families.²⁷ In addition, where water is not available, The Salvation Army will be addressing that need with their tanker based in Turkana. This case is just one example of how water stress causes a ripple effect which decreases the quality of life for many.

During the pandemic, The International Salvation Army took action and provided emergency services where there was a need, from medical to food assistance. In Bangladesh, our organization distributed 10,000 bottles of hand sanitiser throughout the community, as well as installing handwashing facilities. In vulnerable communities, The Salvation Armu also provided over a thousand hygiene packs to try and minimize the impact of the pandemic.

As an international non-profit organisation, The Salvation Army participates in International Development Programme throughout the 133 countries in which we are present. With the help of the Australian Government, Salvation Army Australia has implemented a food and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) program in Northern Malawi.²⁸ This programme helps train farmers in Conservation Agriculture, increasing food security and household income for many.

 

Each year, the international community celebrates World Water Day to celebrate water and raise awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 6. To commemorate these celebrations, The Salvation Army in South Africa drilled boreholes for two communities in the province of Mpumalanga. In an area that is increasingly experiencing water stress and relies on agriculture, these boreholes will provide essential, life-giving resources to residents.