Toilets continue to be a privilege
Sixty one percent of Bangladesh's population still do not have access to safely managed toilet facilities, UN Water data suggests.
Despite this, budget allocation in this sector is highly inadequate, and this needs to be addressed properly, according to experts.
There is progress in the sanitation sector... but if we consider the parameters of SDGs, we have many things to do, especially allocate adequate budget and plan comprehensively.
"There is progress in the sanitation sector in the country. But if we consider the parameters of sustainable development goals, we have many things to do, especially allocate adequate budget and plan comprehensively," Zobair Hasan, research director at Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP), told The Daily Star yesterday.
In 2021-2022 fiscal, the total allocation for the WASH sector was Tk 5,932 crore or only Tk 247 per capita.
This is much lower than the global standard of Tk 1,186.
The SDG 6 states that adequate sanitation and hygiene services at home, in education settings and workplaces are essential to make sure that women can participate in society on equal terms.
The country, however, has big gaps in these indicators, data showed.
There should be at least one toilet for every 10 members of a household while at least one toilet against every 50 students in schools, according to the sector development plan (SDP) of the government.
In reality, however, people living in slums and rural areas do not have an adequate number of facilities. There is one toilet for every 300 students in different educational institutes in the country.
The progress in ensuring safely managed toilets for all is very slow, according to the UN Water data.
In 2000, only 23 percent of the population had access to safely managed toilets and it reached 39 percent in 2020.
In the case of improved toilets, it increased to 76 percent from 40 percent during the same period.
Besides, there is discrimination in sanitation coverage based on people's earnings – 96 percent of the rich and only 46 percent of the poor have access to safe toilets.
The problem is the WASH sector programmes are mainly based on different projects. But without integrating it in government's routine works, it is tough to achieve the sustainable development goal," Zobair Hasan said.
"We need a holistic approach; households, schools, slums -- everything has to be included in the plan properly," he added.
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