WaterAid Bangladesh on Thursday organised a national-level workshop titled 'Addressing resilience losses of climate-induced migrants in Southwest Bangladesh affected by COVID-19 pandemic', for sharing the learnings from a project to ensure its replication at governmental and other levels. The workshop was part of the project which aims to address the socio-economic vulnerability and exclusion of the climate-induced migrants, which has been further compounded by COVID-19, living in urban slums in Khulna and Satkhira. It was held at Lakeshore Heights, Dhaka. The event united leading voices in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and climate change sector to showcase the overall project, including its interventions, learnings and prospects for replication. This involves providing a comprehensive overview of what the project aimed to achieve, the key deliverables that were produced, the results and how the work can be carried forward. The learning-sharing workshop created a unique platform to connect relevant stakeholders catering to climate-induced migrants, allowing them to share their experiences, insights, and challenges. Old, polluting buses in Dhaka to be scrapped to combat air pollution: Rizwana It aimed to highlight the project’s contributions in addressing the plights of climate migrants clustered on the urban fringe, highly exposed and vulnerable to floods and waterlogged soil. As the project nears its end, ICDDR,B has conducted an endline evaluation to portray empirical evidence and learning from the field. Programme Lead-Universal Access Babul Bala’s presentation on the project’s rationale, visual representation of interventions, challenges and learnings,after  ICDDR,B shared graphical representations, statistics, comparison with baseline evaluation and recommendations that they have accumulated from the field. WaterAid Bangladesh adopts a bottom-up approach to zoom in on the real-life accounts of beneficiaries and engaging relevant authority to help foster institutional ownership in order to implement this project. Two beneficiaries- Rupali Begum (Shastho Surokkha Station and Grant Support recipient) and Jannatul Ferdous Irani (IGA Training and Material support) shared their back stories, current living standards and how they experience financial freedom and empowerment while Salim Sarower, Assistant Engineer-Satkhira Municipality, emphasized on misuse of water in daily activities. Parvez Mollah, Assistant Director-Department of Youth Development, expressed his willingness to support the youth in rural areas to deter migration to urban areas. Timely information more vital than food during disasters: Experts The chief guest of the workshop, Professor Emeritus Dr Ainun Nishat, Member, Advisory Committee of Climate Bridge Fund (ACCF), emphasised forgoing callousness of COVID-19 vaccination dosage, installation of Pond Sand Filters (PSF) and the importance of Rainwater Harvesting in high salinity regions. He stated, "Just like the heatwave we experienced this year, there can also be cold waves that we could anticipate. This is climate change, and its unpredictability, due to the lack of patterns, makes it even more challenging. To support people's livelihoods, we must focus on addressing these uncertainties.” Special guest Dr Md Golam Rabbani, Head of Secretariat, CBF, BRAC, appreciated the triangulation modality of the workshop and described it as “first-hand example of a multi-sectoral approach”. Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh Hasin Jahan warranted the need to weigh in on their failures and stated, "We often avoid failures, but it is important to reflect on our work and identify them, so we have something to improve on in the future. My key takeaway from this project is how we can scale up our learning in behaviour change more effectively. While resources are limited, we must allocate them wisely to ensure we prioritise WASH as an integral part of climate funds.” The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks from Nabolok Parishad’s Executive Director, Kazi Rajeeb Iqbal.

Experts at an event Monday called for proper selection  of projects in the annual development plan (ADP) and the need for reducing inequalities in allocations for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects between urban and rural or hard-to-reach areas. They made the call in a pre-budget press conference hosted by WaterAid Bangladesh, Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC), FANSA-BD, FSM Network, Bangladesh Water Integrity Network, Sanitation and Water For All, End Water Poverty, MHM Platform, UNICEF and WASH Alliance International. An analysis by PPRC, in collaboration with WaterAid, found that allocation to the WASH sector was 5.44 percent (Tk14,517 crore) of total ADP (Tk266,793 crore) in the fiscal year (FY) 2021-22. The figure also shows WASH allocations in hard-to-reach areas fell drastically in FY22, with allocations for the areas being 72 percent below the level five years earlier in FY17. READ: Experts want THR in tobacco control plans The analysis also shows geographical inequality of WASH allocations remains significant, where cities and towns have received the highest percentage of the allocations compared to rural, char, hilly, and coastal areas in previous years. These under-developed areas' needs are higher than those in urban regions, and the upcoming budget must consider the acute needs of the marginalised pockets. "Bangladesh had remarkable success in achieving WASH-related MDG era targets with drinking water made available to 98 percent of the population and near eradication of open defecation. SDG era targets are more challenging with the focus on safe water and safely managed sanitation as well as under hygiene," Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, chairman of PPRC, said. "Although the inequitable spatial allocation has been repeatedly raised over the years, no change has been forthcoming."

Forty percent respondents said that they know handwashing using water and soap is necessary before eating, said Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in a report.

The finance minister’s proposed budget fell short of focusing on health and hygiene as a key priority in the post-Pandemic situation, even though the multi-sectoral damage inflicted by the virus has vividly embodied the necessity to meet the challenges in health and WASH sector, said speakers in a press conference on Sunday.