Inadequate budget allocation creates difficulties in achieving WASH sector targets: Speakers

Budget cuts and inadequate allocations create hurdles in achieving targets in the country's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, according to speakers.

At a conference on a pre-budget discussion in the WASH sector held at the National Press Club on Thursday (24 May), the speakers highlighted that by 2030, achieving 100% of the WASH targets is fundamental for obtaining sustainable developments goals 

According to data from the WaterAid data, targets were met for only 59% of safe drinking water and 39% for safely managed sanitation as of 2021. Whereas, there's only six years left to achieve these targets completely.

A total of Tk182.28 billion was allocated in FY 2022-2023, and Tk139.42 billion in FY 2023-24. 

The proposed budget for the current fiscal saw a decline of 23%. 

Fluctuations in the annual development programme (ADP) allocation for the WASH sector were also observed in FY 2012-13 and FY 2013-14. But the downward fluctuation in the current fiscal was almost one-fourth of the allocation in the previous fiscal.

The growth in WASH allocations is only 5.44% which is much less than the 7.4% growth in size of the ADP. Such less-than-proportionate growth in WASH allocations is likely to impact negatively on the timely realisation of the government's commitment to SDG6.

At the conference, Executive Chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) Hossain Zillur Rahman said, "We not only need to increase allocation to WASH sector but more seriously we need adequate allocation, especially allocation to the WASH sector should be proportionate or higher than the size of ADP growth. In this case, only the government allocation is not enough, the private sector must also come forward.

"Such a budget cut creates difficulties in achieving the targets as well as fulfilling the commitment to providing 100% safe water and 100% safe sanitation. The allocation of ADP for WASH sector shows fluctuation and low proportional growth trend. The WASH sector targets in the SDG era are more complex and challenging than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)." 

WaterAid Bangladesh also indicates that there are three types of disparities can be observed in WASH sector in Bangladesh. Mainly rural-urban disparity, inter-urban disparity and less attention to some areas that are hard to reach especially in the haor areas. All regional disparities in allocation need to be eliminated. The rural-urban gap in WASH allocations broadly continued in allocations for FY 2023-24.

In this regard several private organisations, including WaterAid, PPRC, Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA), FSM Network, and Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) appeal to continue the exemption of VAT and supplementary duty on the import of raw materials of sanitary napkin to encourage domestic production of hygiene product for women and adolescent girls in the press conference today.

Representatives of various organisations said safe water and sanitation should be identified as fundamental rights. 

Currently this sector requires 5 to 6 times more budget as more efforts are needed to meet the demand. 

WASH needs to be declared as a separate sector in the budget to increase allocation.

Hossain Zillur Rahman said, "In order to ensure timely achievement of these targets, the ADP growth rate and allocation to the WASH sector should also be aligned with the development budget. It is important to give priority to regional disparities and the involvement of the communities concerned in the allocation of ADP in the national budget of the next fiscal year 2024-25. 

"There is a need to address the disparity in distribution between urban and disadvantaged areas under climate risk including Char, Haor, hilly and other hard to reach areas," he added.