WASH Pre-Budget Policy Brief 2022

WASH: A challenge of uneven progress

With only 8 years of SDG timeline remaining, progress on WASH targets are of serious concern. On the National Priority Target (NPT) 17 (SDG Indicator 6.1.1) i.e. safe drinking water, national achievement as of 2021 is only 59% (JMP, 2021) against the target of 100%.

Progress in the sanitation sub-sector too is a matter of concern. But NPT 18 sets the target as 100% population using safely managed sanitation services (SDG Indicator 6.2.1). However, progress on this indicator of safely managed sanitation as of 2021 is only 39% - rural 42% and urban 34% – (JMP, 2021).

Progress on the other basic indicator for status of hygiene is only 58% and on the more limited indicator of ‘without soap or water’, national achievement is only 36% (JMP 2021). Bangladesh position is second from bottom among South Asian countries. All these implies that Bangladesh has to go a long way to achieve SDGs in respect of safe water, safely managed sanitation and hygiene.

This policy brief examines budgetary trends of the Government of Bangladesh in terms of annual development programme (ADP) allocation and expenditure in WASH sector to assess gaps and challenges in achieving SDG 6 targets in time.