SDG 6 & COVID-19: accelerating progress towards SDG 6 in the Asia-Pacific region in the context of COVID-19 recovery
The 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has highlighted the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in protecting human health. However, while the Asia Pacific region has seen significant progress towards SDG 6 targets during the past 20 years, the region still faces critical challenges due to scarce water resources, growing populations, and poor public infrastructure. These challenges coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic not only impede on the region’s progress towards SDG 6 but also cascade onto other interlinked SDGs such as poverty, gender equality, and climate change. Although the pandemic has had mixed impacts on SDG 6, it is imperative to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 during and post-COVID-19 to meet its 2030 targets.
