Water and Sanitation Services in Latin America and the Caribbean: Overview of databases and information gaps

Having consistent, reliable and comparable information for each indicator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is essential to direct the efforts and investments necessary to achieve them. In this technical note, two obstacles in the measurement of indicators 6.1 and 6.2 in water and sanitation are explored: the heterogeneity of definition and the limitations of existing sources. To this end, a comparison exercise of available information sources on water and sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean is offered. In addition, a series of recommendations are presented for the design of questions, informed by the parameters established by the Joint Monitoring Program. Finally, a data collection exercise developed by the IDB's Water and Sanitation Division, in collaboration with the Latin American Public Opinion Project of Vanderbilt University, is shared. The objective of this work is to present the opportunities and challenges that the water and sanitation sector faces in view of the available data, and the needs and importance of having additional data to improve our diagnosis and measurement of progress towards achieving the SDG.