Bangladesh has reduced open defecation close to zero and ensured basic sanitation services to 64 per cent of households. But 39 per cent households use safely managed sanitation services. To increase the use of improved sanitation services, awareness raising, use of improved technology as well as coordinated efforts from all are required.
The discussants of the roundtable “Ensuring Improved Sanitation for Improved Nutrition” shared this on Monday, 30 October, 2023 at Prothom Alo office. USAID’s Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity organized this roundtable. Prothom Alo was the media partner of the event.
Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), private sector and NGO representatives, sanitation experts joined the roundtable.
In the keynote presentation, Mahjabeen Ahmed, WASH Technical Lead, Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity shared how poor sanitation can contaminate water, increase diarrheal disease, result in poor nutrition absorption, As a result, people suffer from malnutrition, especially stunting; health expenditures increase; and workdays are lost. Moreover, she presented some statistics on sanitation situation: 84 per cent of the families use improved latrines. And 64 per cent use “not shared latrines”. Target has been set to increase this to 100 per cent by 2030. On the other hand, 39 per cent of families use safely managed which needs to be increased too.
DPHE of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-Operatives works on sanitation across the country. DPHE is implementing the Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Human Capital Development Project.
The Project Director Md. Tabibur Rahman Talukder said, increasing the sanitation coverage is a continued process. He shared the location-specific detail plan of the ongoing project and stated, sanitation is a basic need, and the government is continuously working towards meeting that need.
The Project Director of the Project for Improvement of Safe Water-Supply and Sanitation System in Rural Areas of Gopalganj District, DPHE, Md. Shafiqul Hassan stated that there are 330 municipalities in the country. The main problem of these municipalities is sanitation. Municipalities have houses with different structures. Septic tanks in houses are of different types – these are connected to drains and drains are connected to rivers. There are issues of enforcing laws in the municipalities. Fecal sludge removal and management is a major issue in the municipalities. He also added, 125 municipalities are implementing fecal sludge treatment plant projects.
Following the two government officials’ speeches, Muhammad Khan, Director, Economic Growth Office, USAID said, USAID recognizes the importance of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) for better nutritional outcomes and for a better quality of life. This is why we integrate WASH interventions in all of our nutrition programs and support Bangladesh towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 of ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. USAID collaborates, through Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity and its other programs, with the Government, private sector, NGOs, and other development partners at the central and local level to identify the WASH sector gaps and challenges to develop effective implementation strategies.
Md. Nurul Osman, Managing Director, HYSAWA said, open defecation in Bangladesh has been reduced to close to zero whereas open defecation rate in India, Pakistan, Nepal is between 5 to 25 per cent. But their rate of the use of safely managed latrines is higher than Bangladesh. 34 per cent of Bangladeshi families use safely managed latrines - neighboring countries have more 50 per cent safely managed latrines coverage. To achieve Bangladesh’s targets, it has to increase five times its work pace and initiatives.
Professor Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, Director, International Training Network-Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (ITN-BUET) said, rural and urban scenarios are totally different in sanitation. There are instructions in laws for appropriate technology in rural areas. But we have to rethink for separate technologies for disaster-prone and climate change affected areas.
In the two and half hour’s roundtable, several panelists highlighted that rural and urban areas face different sanitation problems. So, these require tailored solutions. People are more interested in the above-the-surface structure but less concerned about the fecal sludge. This demands awareness raising activities. Moreover, innovation of new technological solutions needs to be considered.
Shahidul Islam, Sector Leader-Water, SNV Bangladesh stated that municipalities try to offer sanitation services, but they lack capacity. Therefore, private sector needs to be engaged here. He also said, compared to the investments made for sanitation infrastructure or latrines, investments in fecal sludge management is meager.
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) has been working in many locations for safe water supply and sanitation. Md. Abdul Matin, General Manager and Project Coordinator for Bangladesh Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Human Capital Development Project, PKSF said, PKSF proved people can build latrines using loans. PKSF offers special loans for safe water and sanitation.
Private companies are also investing in sanitation. RFL Plastics Limited is one such company. Abdullah Al Zunaid, Head of Operations, Shine Sanitary Ware & Fittings, RFL Plastics Limited joined online and shared that consumers are using plastic septic tanks. People are more interested to invest in septic tanks but less worried about fecal sludge treatment.
Japan invented cheaper SATO pan many years ago. Rashedul Alam Sarker, Leader-Bangladesh of SATO, Lixil International Private Limited said, SATO pan requires 80 per cent less water than other pans. Less water means less fecal sludge. SATO is working jointly with RFL on sanitation.
Saroja Thapa, Director of Asia Operations, iDE and Acting Country Director, iDE Bangladesh told, iDE develops sanitation technologies appropriate for rural areas, and has training activities on these.
Ramakrishnan Ganesan, Chief of Party, Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition Activity said, to ensure improved nutrition and cent per cent sanitation, the activities should be strengthened in those districts where sanitation coverage is low. If appropriate technology and desired solutions to customers can be provided, everyone will be benefitted.