facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme Dr Akramul Islam Director Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld BRAC, one of the largest NGOs globally, started operating in Bangladesh in 1972 to empower the poor and alleviate poverty A holistic development approach geared toward inclusion, using tools like microfinance, health, education, community empowerment, water and sanitation, etc. BRAC’s work now reaches an estimated 135 million people, a global movement bringing change to 10 low-income countries in Asia and Africa BRAC works together with the community, government, development partners and other organisations such as NGOs, CSOs, etc. BRAC

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld BRAC’s involvement in WASH began in 1970s, as a component in its overall development activities Later WASH component was placed under health programme in 1991 Separate programme for WASH started in 2006 Reduction in open defecation in Bangladesh – 34% in 1990 to 1% 2015: BRAC strengthened integration of WASH with other development programmes in order to sustain the gains Part of Health WASH Pilot Separate WASH Programme within BRAC WASH Component 13 sub- districts 152 sub- districts 25 (new) sub-districts 73 (new) sub-districts BRAC WASH History

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facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Integrated development approach Hygiene promotion – gender specific 120,000 health volunteers/workers Subsidy for the poorest Mobilise funds from government Micro finance: sanitation loans Turning human waste into compost Menstrual hygiene pads Sanitation entrepreneurship OTHER BRAC PROGRAMMES 3 PILLARS OF INTERVENTION Poverty reduction through improved livelihoods Access to basic services Social mobilisation WASH

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Source: MIS of BRAC WASH Scale: Sanitation

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Source: MIS of BRAC WASH Scale: Safe Water

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Sustainable: 87% of repaired water source still functional FUNCTIONAL NON- FUNCTIONAL

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Equal access and use of toilets by poor and non-poor Equity in Sanitation

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Key Lessons Learned Focused WASH intervention is necessary to increase uptake of toilet use in communities and increasing sanitation coverage A customised need-based approach according to the local context is more cost-effective than a “one-size-fits-all” approach Subsidies have proved an effective way to encourage and support community efforts An in-depth understanding of the local context and encouraging community ownership is the key to initiating social change To ensure sustainability, integration with other programmes like Health, education and Microfinance is useful after reaching a relatively high level of coverage

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Challenges resolved & remaining issues What is the minimal level that is needed to sustain WASH outcomes? –Integrating with the Health and education programmes –However, that involves risk of reducing focus on WASH and quality of service can be an issue, since WASH is one of many responsibilities –Community-based monitoring would be a useful tool to further strengthen the sustainability of the programme Financing mechanisms for the poor & ultra-poor for maintenance –Can be partially resolved through the Microfinance sanitation product, since clients can take loans for new and repairing/upgrading latrines –But it is yet to be seen if this is an affordable option for the ultra-poor

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Only by ensuring hygienic behavior among the community members can WASH interventions be sustained in the long run Community ownership and empowerment is critical in achieving rapid growth in areas with low sanitation coverage Strong political commitment and support from government and development partners contributed to the success Integration with other development programmes/agenda is critical to sustain the gains and further improvement Key Take Home

facebook.com/BRACWorld twitter.com/BRACWorld Thank you.