WaterAid, World Health Organization and UNICEF launch landmark GLAAS and TrackFin initiatives with Policy Support Branch

The workshop launched the next cycle of GLAAS and introduced TrackFin, a methodology developed by WHO to track WASH financing at national and sub-national levels, to a wide range of stakeholders including government representatives, development partners, NGOs, research institutions and the private sector.

This workshop is the first step in a process that will eventually lead to the country’s first ever National WASH Accounts, a groundbreaking initiative for Bangladesh’s WASH sector. Participants were oriented by a team from WHO headquarters, and had the opportunity for in-depth discussions on technical and methodological issues.

Inaugurating the workshop as Chief Guest, Ms. Roxana Quader, Additional Secretary, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives highlighted the importance of rigorous estimates of WASH financing for pro-poor, sustainable and accountable services.  

Drawing parallels with the National Health Accounts exercise launched nearly three decades ago, Md Khairul Islam, Country Director of WaterAid, spoke about how it has revolutionised health sector planning and budgeting since its inception. 

The National WASH Accounts exercise has the potential to achieve the same kind of transformative change – institutionalising consistent, rigorous and comprehensive WASH financing tracking to support evidence-based policy and programmes in the years to come.