WASH budget still not enough for safe sanitation: experts

The new national budget has proposed raising allocation for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but the WASH budget is still not enough to ensure safe sanitation and build environment and capacity, experts said today.

Even, the WASH budget did not increase keeping pace with the growing annual development programme, they said.

The implementation of different steps to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030 may slow down because of the inadequate WASH budget, they opined.

The experts made the comments in a press conference in Dhaka's National Press Club jointly arranged by WaterAid along with the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), FANSA-BD, FSM Network, Bangladesh Water Integrity Network (BaWin), Sanitation and Water for All, End Water Poverty, MHM Platform, UNICEF and WASH Alliance International.

An analysis by the PPRC in collaboration with WaterAid found that the WASH allocation increased by 5.44 per cent compared to an overall ADP increase of 7.5 per cent.

The proposed WASH budget is Tk 118.2 billion out of the total ADP allocation of Tk 2,460.66 billion.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, eminent economist and executive chairman of PPRC; Hossain Ishrath Adib, acting country director of WaterAid, and representatives from WASH networks also spoke at the event.