WaterAid launches digital platform to track climate finance for WASH

WaterAid Bangladesh, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Centre for Participatory Research & Development (CPRD) and ACME AI, has disseminated new evidence on climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) finance and launched a digital Green Accountability Monitor to track and analyse climate finance flows for the WASH sector.

The national dissemination event, held in Dhaka, was moderated by Zakia Naznin, programme lead for climate resilience at WaterAid Bangladesh. Dr Shah Abdul Saadi, deputy secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), attended as chief guest, while Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of CPRD, was present as special guest. Partha Hefaz Shaikh, director of programme and policy advocacy at WaterAid Bangladesh, joined as guest of honour.

Two thematic presentations were delivered by Sumaiya Binte Anwar, programme manager at CPRD, and Sadhli Roomy, chief executive officer and co-founder of ACME AI. The presentations outlined Bangladesh's climate finance landscape and demonstrated the functionality of the newly launched digital platform.

In his opening remarks, Partha Hefaz Shaikh emphasised the importance of anchoring climate action in the realities of WASH service delivery, particularly for communities repeatedly affected by climate shocks. He noted that data-driven climate finance governance is essential to strengthening resilience and ensuring equitable resource allocation.

Chief guest Dr Shah Abdul Saadi stressed the need to integrate climate-resilient WASH into national policy frameworks and future development planning. He highlighted that floods, droughts and salinity intrusion—often intensified by climate change—pose direct threats to WASH services and public health. He underscored the importance of improving transparency, accountability and the overall quality of climate finance flows to the sector.

Md Shamsuddoha pointed out that despite Bangladesh having a relatively strong climate finance architecture, WASH continues to receive inadequate attention in adaptation financing. He emphasised that local realities, community participation and gender-responsive indicators must be central to climate budgeting. He added that accessible and reliable data is critical to strengthening monitoring systems and ensuring that investments reach the most climate-vulnerable populations.

During the interactive discussion, participants explored policy gaps, coordination challenges and the role of the digital platform in supporting government agencies, researchers and development partners with real-time insights.

Bangladesh faces some of the world's most severe climate stresses, including sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, floods and droughts, which significantly undermine water supply, sanitation systems and hygiene practices. These impacts disproportionately affect rural and coastal communities, where damaged infrastructure and contaminated water sources often lead to outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

Against this backdrop, WaterAid Bangladesh conducted the study Mapping Climate Finance Flows for WASH in Bangladesh: Architecture, Gaps, and Opportunities, in partnership with CPRD and with support from WRI. The research analyses the current structure of climate finance, identifies persistent gaps and proposes reforms to prioritise climate-resilient WASH investments.

Complementing the study, WaterAid Bangladesh and ACME AI jointly developed the Climate-Resilient Green Accountability Platform. The digital resource is designed to map, track and analyse WASH-related climate finance, aiming to improve transparency, support evidence-based decision-making and guide targeted resource allocation to frontline communities.