Despite a nearly 25% increase in funding for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in the proposed FY2026-27 budget, experts say the allocation remains insufficient to address persistent service gaps and growing climate vulnerabilities, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
The concerns were raised at a press briefing in Dhaka on Wednesday, where the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and WaterAid Bangladesh, in partnership with the Network of WASH Networks, presented findings from a post-budget analysis of WASH allocations under the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
The policy brief, titled “WASH Sector ADP Allocation FY2026-27: Haor, Char Left Behind, Budget Misses Equity Targets,” analyzes the proposed ADP allocations for the sector and assesses their implications for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national development priorities.
According to the analysis, WASH ADP allocation increased by nearly 25%, rising from Tk10,901 crore in FY2025-26 to Tk13,618 crore in FY2026-27. The increase marks a recovery from the sector’s declining trend over the past three fiscal years, although allocations remain below the peak of Tk18,228 crore recorded in FY2022-23.
Despite the rebound, researchers cautioned that the increase does not address longstanding structural issues in WASH financing.
The report noted that 41.8% of Bangladesh’s population still lacks access to safe drinking water, while 60.7% remains without safely managed sanitation services, citing data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025.
“Nearly half of the population still lacks access to safe water and safely managed sanitation, so the challenge is no longer a lack of policy instruments but the failure to implement them effectively and translate allocations into real services for people,” said Advocate Fayazuddin Ahmad, head of policy advocacy at WaterAid Bangladesh.
The brief highlighted a persistent urban bias in budget allocations. Urban areas continue to receive nearly 72% of total WASH ADP funding, despite substantial service gaps in rural and hard-to-reach regions.
Allocations for the country’s four Water Supply and Sewerage Authorities (WASAs) have risen sharply from Tk3,517 crore to Tk6,673 crore, accounting for almost half of total WASH spending. Dhaka WASA alone has been allocated Tk5,010 crore, representing nearly 37% of the total WASH ADP budget.
Researchers noted that much of the funding is tied to large, long-running infrastructure projects, raising questions about implementation efficiency and opportunity costs.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), the primary agency responsible for rural water supply and sanitation services, has seen its allocation fall significantly from Tk3,427.85 crore in FY2025-26 to Tk2,408.19 crore in FY2026-27.
The budget presents a mixed picture for climate-vulnerable and hard-to-reach regions. While allocations for the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council increased substantially from Tk206 crore to Tk1,785 crore, researchers found no dedicated allocation for haor areas. Funding for coastal regions has declined despite growing climate risks, while char areas remain largely overlooked.
The brief also identified some positive developments. Climate adaptation and disaster-risk financing increased to Tk3,143 crore, while allocations for fecal sludge management (FSM) rose from Tk1,364 crore to Tk1,904 crore. Capacity-building funding also increased from Tk916 crore to Tk1,336 crore.
However, hygiene promotion continues to receive limited attention, with the report calling for a dedicated and trackable budget line to support hygiene awareness and behavior-change programs.
Presenting the findings, PPRC Executive Chairman Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman stressed the need for stronger accountability mechanisms.
“Allocation is one thing, but proper use of allocation is another. Without monitoring, data and a dedicated WASH budget code, accountability remains weak. We must also bring performance failure into focus, particularly in overdue big WASH projects and in operations and maintenance,” he said.
The Network of WASH Networks urged the government to strengthen rural WASH financing, establish a dedicated funding window for climate-vulnerable regions, expand investment in fecal sludge and wastewater management, introduce targeted WASH cash support for poor households, empower local governments, and increase funding for school sanitation and hygiene facilities.
