While access to basic drinking water has been made available almost universally, and this success has significantly advanced Bangladesh's progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, this progress isn't uniform everywhere. In many parts of the country, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, WASH services are still lagging, and the situation is becoming increasingly urgent.
Structural obstacles, including geographical isolation, extreme poverty, and the devastating effects of climate change, have made life even tougher for people in these regions. The National Strategy for Water and Sanitation Development in Hard-to-Reach Areas of Bangladesh (2012) defines hard-to-reach areas not just as those with difficult roads or a lack of communication, but also as areas with challenging geological conditions and frequent natural disasters that weaken water and sanitation systems.
This perpetuates a cycle of high child mortality and poverty. The identified hard-to-reach areas include haors, baors, chars, coastal regions, and hills. In the current context, tea gardens and urban low-income communities are also considered hard-to-reach.
In coastal areas, as well as in haors, chars, and hills, seasonal changes often damage water sources. The quality of water is also usually poor due to contamination from arsenic, iron, and bacteria. Latrines are frequently destroyed or damaged by floods or river erosion. Low-income communities in cities and tea gardens often have unhygienic, shared toilets.
There are insufficient facilities for menstrual hygiene management for women and adolescent girls in these areas, particularly in schools, workplaces, and other public places.
Natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, and waterlogging, repeatedly damage WASH infrastructure. This infrastructure is vulnerable to destruction due to a lack of climate-resilient design and poor coordination with disaster risk reduction measures.
The poorest families cannot afford the costs of improved WASH services or maintenance. Logistical challenges and high costs also complicate the delivery of services to hard-to-reach areas. A lack of coordination between government agencies and NGOs, inadequate budgets, and weak oversight further worsen the situation.
The primary issue in the Barind region is drought, which is exacerbated by the hard soil, resulting in a significant drop in the groundwater level. Solutions include introducing artificial groundwater recharge systems, rainwater harvesting, and building drought-resilient WASH infrastructure.
The main features of the haor and beel areas are prolonged floods and waterlogging. During the rainy season, everything gets submerged, making toilets and water sources unusable. To address this, latrines built on raised platforms, floating toilets, and climate-resilient WASH infrastructure are needed. During the dry season, excessive groundwater extraction must be halted, and alternative sources, like rainwater harvesting, should be prioritized.
Frequent cyclones, tidal surges, and salinity make life miserable for people in coastal regions. Constructing salt-resistant and raised WASH infrastructure is essential here. Community-based technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO) plants and rainwater harvesting systems, can be effective solutions.
The hard-to-reach nature of the hills and the risk of landslides make WASH services difficult. Here, a gravity-fed system (GFS) that uses gravity to supply water is a suitable solution. Low-cost toilets made from local materials, such as bamboo or ferrocement, along with rainwater harvesting tanks, can also be an adequate solution.
Tea garden workers have very low living standards and often face social deprivation. The 2012 strategy should be updated to mandate that plantation owners ensure WASH facilities are provided in accordance with the Labour Act 2015. Specific steps must be taken to provide improved latrines, handwashing stations, and facilities for menstrual hygiene management.
A significant issue for the urban low-income communities is uncertain land rights and poor drainage. They must be properly included in WASH programs. Solutions include developing better drainage systems and arranging for legal connections through Dhaka Wasa and community-based organizations.
The 2012 national strategy document must be urgently updated to adapt to the changing climate and the evolving needs of hard-to-reach areas. This updated strategy should give due consideration to the realities of climate change, prioritizing climate-resilient and adaptive solutions. The revised strategy should consider financing through the private sector and microcredit, rather than relying solely on government grants.
The strategy must emphasise effective coordination among local government bodies, various ministries, departments, NGOs, and the community. Sustainable development is not possible without public participation.
Providing safe water and sanitation is not just about building infrastructure; it's about recognizing these as fundamental human rights. The updated strategy should not just be a policy document, but a reflection of a new perspective that ensures no citizen is deprived of basic services, regardless of their location.
The successful implementation of this updated strategy would not only improve health and sanitation but also open new horizons for the country's overall development, bringing Bangladesh one step closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6. It can inspire everyone to see that what seems hard to reach is not a curse, but a new opportunity. Now is the time to think, discuss, and act.
Fayazuddin Ahmad is an advocate and a socio-legal researcher.