Water and SanitationResearch Ideas

Dhaka July 2, 2015

Bangladesh PrioritiesWORKING WITH 30-50 economists including Nobel Laureates, 100+ sector experts engaging major development organizations, NGOs, government, businesses, youths, rural and urban Bangladeshis to identify, analyze and prioritize interventions that will deliver greater benefit per taka spent, helping move Bangladesh towards Vision 2021 and a more prosperous long term future.

In cooperation with the Research and Evaluation Division of BRAC,

Copenhagen Consensus Center organized roundtable discussions with

an aim to figure out smarter solutions to the most problematic issues facing

Bangladesh.

These roundtables are one of several sources

for research ideas.

Sourcing ideas and solutions

Smarter solutions for Bangladesh

Complete set of papers on 30-50 solutions

PRIORITIZATION

Government NGOs

Academia Pvt sector

Think tanks Developmentorganizations

Eminent Panel Assessment

Government and donor seminars

Rural polls Newspaper pollsamong readers

Youth forums across the

countryPrivate sector

meetings

Social, economic and environmental benefit-cost

research by top Bangladeshi, and

international economistsExtensive peer review by

sector experts and academics

100+ ideas on policies & investments

2016

2015

Continuous engagement

with the public via electronic,

print and social media

Working with civil society, government and sector

experts

Widely advocating results of

prioritization exercises

OUTREACH

Research Ideas

Water and Sanitation;(1 of 5)

• Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach.• Incorporate behavior change communication (BCC)

component in sanitation projects. • Mobilize community level investments in the design

and implementation of fecal sludge and solid waste management projects.

• Engage health and family planning government officials in implementing WASH projects.

• Incorporate WASH modules in the education curriculum. • Engage media for raising awareness on water and

sanitation issues.

Water and Sanitation;(2 of 5)

• Integrate WASH with nutrition programs.• Create a fund enabling schools to buy soaps. • Ensure women’s sanitation facilities in schools. • Channel water from Padma and Meghna rivers to mega

cities. • Ensure a safe distance between water supply and

latrines.• Stop dumping industrial waste in fresh water. • Establish sanitation facilities in hard-to-reach areas. • Promote safe sanitation in Haor areas. • Provide free latrines to the ultra-poor.

Water and Sanitation; (3 of 5)

• Integrate school sanitation and menstrual hygiene.• Expand village level menstrual behavior awareness. • Build public toilets that consider women’s needs. • Set up 5’ x 5’ public toilets across Bangladesh. • Testing water quality at the field-level (e.g. through public-

private partnership (PPP).• Set up water safety plants to prevent arsenic

contamination.• Set up latrines across Bangladesh’s rural areas. • Developing fecal sludge management system in peri-urban

areas. • Modernization of fecal sludge management.

Water and Sanitation; (4 of 5)

• Provide subsidies to individuals to buy latrines.• Integrate access to water supply with arsenic

mitigation.• Access to improved, automated waste disposal across

rural and urban areas.• Improved water facilities and waste disposal systems. • Expand availability of sanitation facilities countrywide.• Expand availability of safe drinking water.• Creating awareness on waste management.• Increase levels of hand-washing and hygiene.

Water and Sanitation; (5 of 5)

• Prioritize supply of water to women for agriculture and fishing.

• Design water conservation program for the Northern region and coastal belt.

• Offer financial support for water vendors in slum areas. • Organize businesses for collection and disposal of

sludge.

Full List of Attendees and IntervieweesLaboni Shabna, Program Coordinator, DAM.Mohammad Zobair Hasan, Chief (REM), DORP.Rizwan Ahmed, Head of National Research Center, Forum for Public Health.S M Mahbubur Rahman, Director, WRP, IWM.Dr. Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Project Coordinator, ICCDRB.Milan Kanti Barua, Program Head, WASH BRAC.Nepal Chandra Dey, RED BRAC.Tahera Akhter, RED BRAC.Ratnajit Saha, RED BRAC.Raisa Chowdhury, Manager Program Support, IDE.Mahmood Parvez, RED BRAC.Md. Qamrul Islam, Director, VERC.Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid, BRRI.

Avijit Poddar, Director Research, HDRC.Md. Shafiqul Alam, WASH specialist UNICEF.Jan Willem Rosenboom, Senior Program Officer - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Global Development.Roshan Shrestha, Senior Program Officer - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Global Development.Uttam Kumar Saha, Head of Program - Energy and Urban Services, Practical Action.Rajeev Munankami, Senior Advisor, SNV (Netherlands).