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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme
Dr Akramul Islam
Director
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
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• BRAC, one of the largest NGOs globally, started operating in Bangladesh in 1972 to empower the poor and alleviate poverty
• A holistic development approach geared toward inclusion, using tools like microfinance, health, education, community empowerment, water and sanitation, etc.
• BRAC’s work now reaches an estimated 135 million people, a global movement bringing change to 10 low-income countries in Asia and Africa
• BRAC works together with the community, government, development partners and other organisations such as NGOs, CSOs, etc.
BRAC
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• BRAC’s involvement in WASH began in 1970s, as a component in its overall development activities
• Later WASH component was placed under health programme in 1991
• Separate programme for WASH started in 2006
• Reduction in open defecation in Bangladesh – 34% in 1990 to 1%
• 2015: BRAC strengthened integration of WASH with other development programmes in order to sustain the gains
Part of Health
WASH Pilot
Separate WASH Programme within BRAC
1991 2002 2006 2011 2012 2015
WASH Component
13 sub-districts
152 sub-districts
25 (new) sub-districts
73 (new) sub-districts
BRAC WASH History
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Integrated development approach
Hygiene promotion – gender specific
120,000 health volunteers/workers
Subsidy for the poorest
Mobilise funds from government
Micro finance: sanitation loans
Turning human waste into compost
Menstrual hygiene pads
Sanitation entrepreneurship
OTHER BRAC PROGRAMMES
3 PILLARS OF INTERVENTION
Poverty reduction through improved
livelihoods
Access to basic services
Social mobilisation
WASH
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Source: MIS of BRAC WASH
2.6
9.9
21
25.2 25.9 2730.7
36.939.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (June)
Co
vera
ge
in M
illio
n
Our Scale (in millions of people)
Scale: Sanitation
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Source: MIS of BRAC WASH
0.17
0.48
0.98
1.68 1.78
2.18 2.2 2.3 2.33
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (June)
Co
vera
ge
in M
illio
n
Our Scale (in millions of people)
Scale: Safe Water
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Sustainable: 87% of repaired water source still functional
Functional water sourceNon-functional water source
FUNCTIONAL
NON-FUNCTIONAL
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4% 3% 0%
25%17% 20%
71%80% 80%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
ultra poor poor non-poor
Hygienic latrine
Unhygienic latrine
No latrine
Equal access and use of toilets by poor and non-poor
Equity in Sanitation
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Key Lessons Learned
• Focused WASH intervention is necessary to increase uptake of toilet use in communities and increasing sanitation coverage
• A customised need-based approach according to the local context is more cost-effective than a “one-size-fits-all” approach
• Subsidies have proved an effective way to encourage and support community efforts
• An in-depth understanding of the local context and encouraging community ownership is the key to initiating social change
• To ensure sustainability, integration with other programmes like Health, education and Microfinance is useful after reaching a relatively high level of coverage
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Challenges resolved & remaining issues
• What is the minimal level that is needed to sustain WASH outcomes?– Integrating with the Health and education programmes
– However, that involves risk of reducing focus on WASH and quality of service can be an issue, since WASH is one of many responsibilities
– Community-based monitoring would be a useful tool to further strengthen the sustainability of the programme
• Financing mechanisms for the poor & ultra-poor for maintenance– Can be partially resolved through the Microfinance sanitation product, since
clients can take loans for new and repairing/upgrading latrines
– But it is yet to be seen if this is an affordable option for the ultra-poor
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• Only by ensuring hygienic behavior among the community members can WASH interventions be sustained in the long run
• Community ownership and empowerment is critical in achieving rapid growth in areas with low sanitation coverage
• Strong political commitment and support from government and development partners contributed to the success
• Integration with other development programmes/agenda is critical to sustain the gains and further improvement
Key Take Home