Performance-oriented Monitoring for the Water SDG – Challenges, Tensions and Opportunities

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The ambitious drinking water Sustainable Development Goal target of achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030 has been set. How indicators for this target are defined and monitored will be key to ensuring that resources are most effectively deployed to benefit those currently without access to safe drinking water. This paper discusses opportunities and challenges associated with the proposed indicators and suggests that monitoring must move beyond the monitoring and evaluation paradigm and be linked to surveillance systems that can potentially improve operational performance and financial sustainability of water services at a local level.