FE Report
A growing disparity between rural and urban areas in allocating funds for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is putting rural people's heath at risk of getting affected by diseases.
Speakers at a programme Tuesday shed light on such stark reality, alleging that ministers are being misguided by government officials with the claim that Bangladesh has 97 per cent sanitation coverage.
Such delusions would only cast bad impact on the effort for achieving the target of middle-income-country status by 2021, they cautioned.
Bangladesh has one of the lowest per-capita allocations for WASH, amounting to Tk 264 only, although it is prescribed that the allocation should be Tk 900 to achieve the millennium development goal (MDG).
The speakers demanded separate WASH budget like education and health and a National WASH Accounts responsible for planning and preparing policy strategy for this sector.
The workshop on 'Local Government Budget: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Allocation and Expectation' was held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city. Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP), Simavi and Wateraid jointly organised the programme.
State Minister for Local Government Mashiur Rahman Ranga was present as the chief guest with the Wateraid Bangladesh country representative in the chair. Media personality Mohammad Jahangir moderated the workshop.
DORP research, evaluation and monitoring chief Zobair Hasan and Wateraid Bangladesh chief policymaker Shamim Ahmed presented two concept papers at the meet.
It was pointed out that although 80 per cent people of the country live in rural areas, 70 per cent of the WASH budget is spent in urban areas.
The budget allocation for WASH sector increased in the FY 2014-15 compared to that of the 2006-07. But it is "highly biased" for the big mega cities, including Dhaka.
In a budget analysis Wateraid showed in the current FY 2014-15 the total budget for WASH is Tk 41.13 billion out of which WASA of various city corporations got 70.23 per cent allocation, other districts 13.51 per cent, rural areas 13.79 per cent, char areas 1.59 per cent, coastal areas 0.88 per cent, haor 0.0 per cent and hill tracts 0.0 per cent.
Of the total WASA budget, Dhaka WASA alone got 38.41 per cent allocation.
Wateraid country representative Khairul Islam said to spend 70 per cent of the WASH budget for urban areas shows disparity.
Criticising the logic of the government high-ups for dispensing more funds for urban areas, he said, "You should consider the citizens of the rural and urban areas equally. It is not fair to think that the urban woman will get water from tap and the rural woman will collect from distant places."
Regarding the success of Bangladesh in reducing open defecation, he said the country has done better in the region but it will be half- truth to claim 97 per cent sanitation coverage as there are 18-20 per cent unimproved latrines in the country.
DORP secretary-general AHM Nouman said millions of money has been allocated for various projects in the name of char development. But the char people now have been living an inhuman life.
He suggested long-term planning, target fixing and channelling more resources into rural areas for WASH than raising awareness and blaming rural people for their ignorance.
In his presentation, Zobair Hasan said a significant portion of WASH budget for UPs comes from central government which in most cases does not reach the local-government institutions in time.
Local government division additional secretary Zuena Aziz who was present as a special guest said it is fact that the government could not allocate necessary funds for WASH.
She said not only the policymakers, the local representatives also do not give priority to WASH sector.
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