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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme

Dr Akramul Islam

Director

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene


• 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


• 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


Ph

oto

: B

RA

C


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


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


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


Sustainable: 87% of repaired water source still functional

Functional water sourceNon-functional water source

FUNCTIONAL

NON-FUNCTIONAL


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


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


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


• 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


Thank you.

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