Budget failed to prioritise hygiene:analysts
The government should prioritise hygiene as a vital tool of public health and epidemic preparedness, and invest in large-scale nationwide hygiene campaign, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre, yesterday.
He also stressed the need for installation of public handwashing points with soap and water.
Rahman spoke at an online press conference co-organised by WaterAid, UNICEF, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), FANSA-BD, WSSCC,B, FSM Network, Sanitation and Water for All, and WASH Alliance.
He also recommended immediate realisation of the recommendations made by the network earlier this month.
Block fund kept in health budget of Tk 10,000 crore may be used for implementation of immediate handwashing stations across Dhaka city and slum areas to provide hygiene facilities for the poor to fight Covid-19, said WaterAid Country Director Hasin Jahan.
Analysts at the discussion said the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2020-21 fell short of prioritising hygiene as a key issue to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Maintaining progress towards the sustainable development goals will also be hindered because of the insufficient allocation for hygiene sub-sector, they said.
The Covid-19 has vividly embodied the necessity of required national budget to meet the challenges in health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, the experts said.
It has created a strong urge to improve the country's water, sanitation, and hygiene situation but the proposed budget has not considered a robust allocation and mechanism to meet the need, according to a statement.
The steady growth and upward trend in allocation for WASH by PPRC is praiseworthy, as the proposed budget recommended setting aside Tk 12,227 crore in fiscal year 2020-21, up from Tk 10,796 crore in the previous year, the analysts said.
Following the legacy of previous years, the low attention in hygiene is also notable in FY 2020-21 with less than 5 per cent allocation in hygiene sub-sector of the WASH budget while budget distribution remained skewed toward urban areas.
Spatial inequities between urban and rural areas remain constant as cities and towns continue to receive most of the funding at the expense of rural, char and hard-to-reach areas, despite acute needs.
The country is passing through an extraordinary period tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
At a time like this, budget formulation in the face of declining rates of GDP growth, revenues, international trade and external remittance makes it a challenge to support the growing demand for healthcare and hygiene awareness activities.
An upfront and realistic budget reflecting economic and financial costs of the pandemic is needed, reflecting the government's approach to not only fight the virus but also contain the loss of lives and livelihoods.
The proposed budget is falling short in meeting the ground level realities, the experts said.
A study presented at the event reflected the gap of deliveries between urban and rural areas, which is widening over the years.
It also revealed that in five years' period there happens to be almost no change in shares of urban (80-83 per cent) and rural (17-20 per cent) allocation.
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