The Sustainable Development Goals for Water and Sanitation Services: Interpreting the Targets and Indicators

Agenda 2030 provides a scope of reference for global development up to 2030. For the water and sanitation sector, the SDG target of achieving universal access by 2030 is particularly ambitious in those countries with large disparities in access, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, and they will therefore need to call upon all their resources.

The SDGs should be implemented progressively and the goals and targets need to be adapted and adopted at both the national and local levels, to ensure that the specific features of each environment are taken into account. As part of the Agenda 2030, governments will need to quickly adopt national objectives and sector strategies based on the SDGs. Civil society stakeholders will need to challenge and support governments to implement the SDGs and incorporate these measures and approaches into their practices and intervention strategies.