In order to tackle COVID-19 and maintain progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the government needs to allocate a significant amount in WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) sector in the upcoming budget for the fiscal 2020-2021 (FY21), said experts.
Speakers came up with the suggestion on Monday at a virtual joint press conference held by WaterAid, UNICEF, PPRC, FANSA-BD, WSSCC,B, FSM Network, Sanitation and Water for All and WASH Alliance.
An analysis of PPRC reveals that the government has made commendable progress on WASH financing as the allocation has demonstrated an upward trend from the budget of FY08 (Tk 25.63 billion) to FY20 (Tk 106.87 billion) with an increase of 11.6 per cent, they revealed.
During the FY2019-20, sanitation has received the highest allocation, but hygiene was overlooked, while both need equal attention to fight the deadly pandemic COVID-19, they suggested.
Moreover, the analysis also shows geographical inequality of WASH allocation remains significant, where cities and towns have received the highest percentage of the allocated funding, compared to rural, char, hilly, and coastal areas in previous years.
“The needs of under-developed areas’ are higher than in urban regions and the upcoming budget must consider the acute needs of the marginalised pockets”, they said.
Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, eminent economist, chairman, Power, and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) has also stated that FY21 budget must prioritise hygiene as a critical area in the light of COVID-19 threat and the complexities of SDG 6 attainment.
“It is time to shift gears and accelerate the WASH financing for pro-poor and marginalised communities to keep up with SDGs commitment”, he said.
Ms Hasin Jahan, country director, WaterAid stated, investment in nationwide hygiene promotion and behaviour change campaigns must get priority in the upcoming budget to prevent and control COVID-19.
Other speakers have also stated that the allocation of the budget shouldn’t differ from urban infrastructure to rural areas as everyone are at risk of COVID-19.
They also added that It is important to allocate more on handwashing devices installed in public places, which is crucial to promote good hygiene and avert COVID-19.
The press conference jointly put forward some recommendations. They are:
- Prioritise hygiene as a vital tool of public health and epidemic preparedness, and invest in large-scale nationwide hygiene campaign and installation of public handwashing points with soap and water.
- Increase immediate investment in WASH, including hygiene and WASH in health care facilities, as a priority of COVID-19 prevention and response as well as to build resilience against future disease outbreaks, with a particular focus on hard-to-reach areas and other marginalised groups.
- Track actual expenditure of WASH allocation systematically to improve targeting and decision-making around WASH investment to cater actual needs of citizens;
- Commit to financing the priorities set out in key planning documents, such as the Five Year Plan and Sector Development Plan, towards universal sustainable WASH services, prioritising the poorest and most marginalised
- Address the extreme disparities in access and affordability to clean water between highly subsidised urban customers and marginalised populations in the coast, slums, and other hard-to-reach areas through exploring solutions such as progressive tariffs.
- Invest in increasing technical capacity of implementing institutions to enable proper execution of national level policies and projects, particularly in lagging areas such as hygiene and faecal sludge management which are critical to public health
