Increase allocation for hygiene in the budget
Allocation for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities must be increased in the national budget 2021-2022 to address the overwhelming challenges posed by Covid-19, said speakers at a press conference yesterday.
They said availability of clean water, soap and hygiene facilities are still lacking in major cities, including markets, bus terminals, public places, and institutions.
Functional facilities are needed at hospitals and clinics in both urban and rural setting with running water, soap to avert widespread virus transmission, they added.
The speakers made the remarks at a pre-budget virtual press conference jointly organised by WaterAid, Unicef, PPRC, FANSA-BD, FSM Network, Sanitation and Water for All, WASH Alliance and MHM Network.
An analysis by the Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC), in collaboration with WaterAid and Unicef, noted that there are continued disparities in the allocation of WASH budgets in different parts of the country considering the geographical location.
Despite the high need for WASH budget allocations in rural, char, hilly and coastal areas, the cities and metropolitan received relatively high share of the allocations in recent years, it found.
Hasin Jahan, country director of WaterAid Bangladesh, said "We have noticed that Covid-19 has pushed many families to the poverty line. Many families have slashed their budgets on hygiene materials, especially women compromised with their period products. So, utmost attention and actions are required to curtail additional VAT tax burden on sanitary products and reduce their prices to make these affordable."
Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, chairman of PPRC, said, "Water, sanitation, and hygiene must get the attention it deserves in the budget to defeat Covid-19 as well as to keep up with SDG-6 targets."
He said Covid-19 has increased disparities and gaps in many forms, and utmost important to address inequities within WASH sector is a must to continue the commendable progress the government has demonstrated in SDGs achievement.
Hygiene stays a neglected cross cutting sub-sector as allocation in hygiene remains low which if not given proper attention may prolong the pandemic, added Dr Rahman.
Speakers recommended a holistic rethinking of WASH priorities with particular focus on elevating hygiene from a mere footnote to a mainstream agenda as a policy window to fight the pandemic.
They also recommended taking steps to explore the links between hygiene, health and under-nutrition, particularly of adolescent's girls and children and updating the National Hygiene Promotion Strategy in light of Covid-19 realities.
They also urged the government to address the persisting policy bias that result in spatial inequities in WASH allocations.
According to them, budget should focus on multi-sectoral and multi-agency approach to improve nutrition and hygiene through handwashing and other hygiene practices as conceived in the 8th Five Year Plan 2020-2025.
Comments