Civil society organisations on Monday expressed concern over the declining budget allocations for water, sanitation and hygiene.
At a press conference held at the National Press Club in the capital Dhaka, they said that the trend threatened the country鈥檚 progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals to achieve clean water and sanitation for all.
Economist Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairperson of the Power and Participation Research Centre, mentioned the sharp downward trend in allocations for water, sanitation and hygiene (often abbreviated to WASH) in the country.
He said that the upward trajectory in WASH allocations that had begun in the 2016-17 financial year reversed in the FY 2023-24 and dropped by a further 22.46 per cent in the FY 2024-25.
鈥楾his decline endangers both global and national development targets,鈥� Zillur said.
He also said that there was persistent inequality between the urban and rural areas in terms of WASH investments.
鈥楾he erratic annual development programme allocations continue to widen this urban-rural divide,鈥� he said.
Addressing regional disparities, WaterAid鈥檚 policy and advocacy lead Fayazuddin Ahmad said that budget allocations for vulnerable regions such as hilly, coastal and haor areas remained erratic.
While coastal allocations saw a temporary increase in the FY 2023-24 due to new projects, he said, the overall equity remained elusive.
鈥楽uch inconsistency contradicts the government鈥檚 commitment to ensuring universal access to safe water and sanitation,鈥� Fayazuddin said.
The press conference was jointly organised by a coalition of civil society organisations, including WaterAid, Power and Participation Research Centre, Menstrual Health and Hygiene Platform, Freshwater Action Network South Asia, Bangladesh Faecal Sludge Management Network and Sanitation and Water for All.
Mohammad Zobair Hasan from the International Water Alliance mentioned the implementation delay as the challenge in the WASH sector.
鈥楽ince the 2019-20 financial year, many government departments have struggled with limited capacity, resulting in partial budget withdrawals in revised allocations,鈥� he said.
Sumaiya Binte Anwar from the Climate Justice Alliances said that although 25 ministries carried out WASH-related projects using the Climate Change Trust Fund and the ADP, only 13 of them gave priority to WASH investments.
PPRC senior fellow Mohammad Abdul Wazed put forward several key recommendations, including discrimination-free WASH allocations in the urban and rural areas, and fair budgetary support for marginalised communities such as tea garden workers, dalits and the bede community.
He also stressed the importance of integrating the WASH-focused projects within climate financing frameworks and aligning WASH budget growth with the expansion of the ADP to prevent erratic funding patterns.