ALICANTE, Spain — The progress dial on Sustainable Development Goal 6 — access to clean water and hygiene for all — is turning very slowly, says Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister and high-level chair of Sanitation and Water for All, a partnership focused on galvanizing political leadership and accountability in water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Describing WASH as “the poorest of the poor cousins” among the SDGs, Rudd said finance ministers must stop running from sector ministers and start looking at creative financing solutions.
This is paramount as financial resources shrink amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic struck, 80% of low- and middle-income countries said they didn’t have the resources to meet their national WASH targets.