Support National Government on development and humanitarian coordination efforts to incorporate gender-responsive, climate- and disaster-resilient approaches for water and sanitation across the whole of SDG 6

As dedicated Global WASH Cluster lead for humanitarian coordination and, in many occasions, co-chair of national coordination functions in ~ 100 counties that UNICEF work on WASH, to invest in nationally-led inclusive sector platforms. This needs to go beyond sharing of information, focusing on harmonising and aligning the sector around national priorities, backed by data and monitoring to ensure high quality coordination mechanisms.

Contributing Action Number

CA2.18

Primary Entry Point

2: Engage better for countries

Additional Entry Point(s)

3: Align UN system support for integration

4: Accelerate progress and transformational change

Output(s)

Output 2.1: Expertise and resources are fully leveraged by the UN system to support countries, with emphasis on the water and sanitation needs of developing countries

Output 2.2: Diverse stakeholders and partnerships are mobilized by the UN system to support countries’ progress on water and sanitation

Output 4.3: Institutional and human resources capacity development support that responds to national needs and priorities is provided by the UN system, contributing to a skilled water and sanitation workforce

Output 4.4: Enabling environments for water and sanitation innovation are supported by the UN system, including policies, partnerships, and transfer of technology to remove barriers, with emphasis on technology transfer needs of developing countries

Output 4.5: Governance of water and sanitation is improved through UN system support, including with emphasis on the needs of developing countries

SDG 6 Target(s)

Cross-cutting work on SDG 6

SDG target 6.1: Achieve safe and affordable drinking water

SDG target 6.2: Achieve access to sanitation and hygiene and end open defecation

Type of Engagement

Normative support (e.g. development of normative guidance, guidelines and standards)

Implementation (e.g. direct support and service delivery, pilot or larger scale)

Convening of stakeholders

Policy advice and thought leadership

Geographical Scope

Country-level (national, subnational and local)

Leading Entity

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

The Contributing Actions are key initiatives supporting the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, aligning individual and joint efforts across UN entities and partnering organizations to advance global water and sanitation goals. These actions are integrated into the Collaborative Implementation Plan (CIP) Results Framework 2025-2028, which provides a structured approach to achieving system-wide impact through coordinated UN efforts.
The Priority Collaborative Actions outlined in the framework focus on enhancing water security, improving governance, strengthening climate resilience, and accelerating progress on sanitation and hygiene. By fostering system-wide collaboration among UN agencies, these actions help drive policy coherence, knowledge sharing, and innovative solutions to address the world’s most pressing water challenges.