DHAKA, June 24, 2018 (BSS) – Experts here today urged the government to
increase budgetary allocation aiming to ensure safe water and sanitation for
all.
Equitable allocation in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector is
needed in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2018-19 to achieve the SDG-
6 goal, they told a press conference at Jatiya Press Club.
Water-Aid, UNICEF, PPRC and WASH Alliance in cooperation with different
organisations arranged the press conference.
Executive Chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC)
Hossain Zillur Rahman made a keynote presentation at the press conference
while Dr Dibalok Singha of WASH programme, former Director General of
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Mohammed Abdul Wazed, senior officials
of different organisations and WASH campaigners spoke.
Hossain Zillur said the government has shown firm commitment to water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but the relative growth in WASH allocation is
disproportionally low against the substantial growth of GDP and the national
budget over the last seven years (2011-12 to 2017-18).
He said an analysis of the Wash allocation of LGD shows an increase of
only Taka 5.47 billion in the proposed national budget (2018-19), which is
not sufficient at all as it requires additional Taka 2100 crore.
Zillur said although overall WASH allocation provisionally showed around
10 percent increase in fiscal year 2017-18, the rural-urban inequality has
widened. There is no significant increase in allocation for WASH in the hard-
to-reach rural areas, he added.
Dr Dibalak said: “There is a closed linkage between child nutrition and
safe water and sanitation facilities….proportions of malnutrition,
particularly the number of stunting children, are still high in the country.
We need to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and
sanitation for all to build a healthy nation.”
A set of recommendations was put forward at the press conference. The
recommendations include giving special emphasis on rural and hard-to-reach
areas, ensuring strong monitoring and coordination of WASH programme and
implementation of Sector Development Plan (SDP).