SDG 6 · Clean Water and Sanitation

One in four people can't count on safe water at home.

Eco Heroes turns that fact into a story an 8-year-old can hold onto: The Water Man, book 6 of 17 in the SDG Library.

Unlock all 17 books, first month free → Read SDG 1 free

The target, in plain language

What the UN actually promised

Target 6.1

By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

“Safely managed” means water at home, available when it's needed and free from contamination. Not a long walk to a well.

Target 6.2 adds sanitation and hygiene for all, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls. In 2024, one in five people still had no basic place to wash their hands with soap and water.

Why it matters

The number behind the story

1 in 4

people still lack safely managed drinking water In 2024, 74 per cent of the world's population had it, leaving about a quarter of humanity without.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, UN DESA. Figures as published in July 2026.

The story

The Water Man

Written by Ricardo Alcántara (Premio Lazarillo) · Illustrated by Eva Sánchez Gómez

Book 6 of 17 in the Eco Heroes SDG Library, one illustrated story for each UN Sustainable Development Goal. Unlocked with any Eco Heroes plan (families from €79 a year), and every plan starts with a free month. Published in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan.

Bring it into the room

Talk about it, try it

Discuss

One question to ask after reading

“How many times did you use water today before you even left the house?”

Try it: 15 minutes

Keep a water diary

For one morning, list every time you use water and estimate the litres. Then imagine carrying all of it from a tap a kilometre away. Which uses would you drop first?

Seventeen goals, seventeen stories

Every SDG gets its own illustrated book, its own facts and its own activities. SDG 1 is always free. The rest unlock with a family, school or hotel plan.

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