Progress Report UN SDG 6.A Acceleration

WORLD – INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (SDG TARGET 6.A)

SITUATION

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.a aims to expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitationrelated activities and programmes. Global progress towards the target is measured as the amount of waterand- sanitation-related ODA that is part of a governmentcoordinated spending plan. This snapshot focuses on ODA disbursements to the water sector that are channelled through recipient country governments. Other types of channels include public sector institutions, non-governmental and civil society organizations, public-private partnerships and networks, multilateral organizations, universities and other teaching institution, research institutes and think tanks and private-sector institutions. ODA being channelled through recipient country governments indicates a high level of cooperation and alignment between donors and these recipient governments, in the spirit of target 6.a.

PROGRESS MADE

While water sector ODA disbursements have stagnated or even decreased since 2015, the proportion of ODA channelled through recipient governments has increased over the SDG period, in terms of both the number of donors and the total amount. In 2015, $5.5 billion of water sector ODA was channelled through recipient governments; in 2018 this had increased by 26 per cent to $6.9 billion. Between 2018 and 2021, the amount dropped to $5.6 billion. Although the yearly amounts fluctuate, the trend indicates that more and more ODA is channelled through recipient governments. In 2015, donors channelled 60 per cent of their water sector ODA through recipient governments. This proportion increased over the following years, peaking at 75 per cent in 2019 and since then remaining above 70 per cent. During this time, the number of official donors channelling funds through recipient governments increased from 22 in 2014 to 29 in 2019.