In rural Bangladesh the people’s access to sanitation has significantly improved over the last years, and the practice of open defecation drastically decreased. However, the country-wide coverage with low-quality latrines has led to a situation where the achievement of UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, from a hygiene quality perspective, is unlikely. Nevertheless, the rural population of Bangladesh, including the poor, spend considerable amounts of money for their sanitation systems. Increasingly, the poor are ready to invest in improved and more hygienic solutions that should be customer-oriented, affordable and commercially available in local markets.

Based on a recent successful pilot project supported by SDC, the proposed project aims to facilitate the market systems of quality sanitation products to respond to this need.

450,000 people (60% poor, out of whom 40% disadvantaged) in 90,000 households, particularly women, children and youth, in at least six districts benefit from increased and more equitable utilisation of quality sanitation facilities and services, resulting in better health conditions and wellbeing.

Primary target group: 100,000 households lacking access to affordable improved sanitation in at least six districts; particularly women, children and youth
Secondary target group: 700 local sanitation entrepreneurs, local government institutions in 400 hard-to-reach unions. National/international private sector companies for sanitation services.

Civil society and national-level government institutions.

Outcome 1. Rural households use improved yet affordable sanitation services and have improved their hygiene behaviour.

Outcome 2. Private service providers sustainably offer a variety of affordable sanitation services.

Outcome 3. Public and civil society water, sanitation and hygiene actors promote, procure and subsidise improved sanitation services for the poor and disadvantaged through public private development partnerships.

Expected results:  

Output 1.1. By 2019, 100,000 households in rural communities in at least 6 districts are reached with effective behavior change communication, and access satisfactory, improved sanitation products and services that meet the needs and desires of the poor and disadvantaged.

Output 2.1. By 2019, at least 500 latrine producers provide improved sanitation services to poor and disadvantaged households, based on at least 3 national-level business models.

Output 3.1. By 2019, the Department of Public Health Engineering has developed, endorsed and launched a national sanitation marketing strategy supporting at least 90 Local Government Institutes in the targeted districts that have established local coordination public private development partnerships and adequate guidelines favourable to sanitation marketing

Results from previous phases:  

The pilot project has reached 7,000 households in 14 unions with improved sanitation systems in 2013/2014. It developed:

• An affordable improved latrine product that is currently entering mass production and being marketed through the private sector throughout the country.
• A private sector business model for the improved latrine product that is enabling national-level outreach in a sustainable modality.
• A Public Private Development Partnership Platform at the local level for reallocation of public subsidies to improved sanitation products through commercial channels.

Government of Bangladesh, Department of Public Health Engineering, private sector organizations, development partners and civil society actors

SDC-funded projects on local governance and on water & sanitation.

UNICEF-supported projects in water, sanitation, hygiene and local governance

Phase 1 01.05.2015 - 31.10.2019   (Active)