WaterAid Bangladesh hosts national workshop on urban WASH project achievements

WaterAid Bangladesh, with the support of the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, hosted a national-level workshop on the ‘WASH for Urban Poor (WASH4UP) Phase II’ project in Dhaka on Saturday.

The workshop highlighted the key achievements, lessons learned, challenges and stakeholder reflections from the project, which was implemented from April 2023 to March 2026. The event also presented baseline and endline findings and discussed priority directions for sustaining and scaling inclusive, climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for urban poor communities in Bangladesh.

Mohammad Saiful Islam Mazomder, Joint Secretary of the Policy Support Branch at the Local Government Division, attended the programme as chief guest. “Many important issues have emerged from today’s event. These will be reflected in our policies, and the necessary steps will be taken to support their implementation,” he said.

Among the special guests were Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, First Secretary (Environment & Climate) and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, and Mohammad Mamun-Ul-Hasan, Chief Social Welfare and Slum Development Officer of Dhaka North City Corporation.

Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström said the partnership between Sweden and WaterAid spans nearly two decades and extends beyond the two phases of the programme. “We collaborate with WaterAid in many parts of the world to ensure accessible, quality and sustainable WASH services and infrastructure. The WASH sector does not stand alone; multiple factors are interconnected to ensure it functions effectively,” she noted.

Mohammad Mamun-Ul-Hasan highlighted the importance of ensuring both infrastructure maintenance and service delivery for local communities, expressing hope that the initiatives supported by WaterAid would expand further to benefit urban residents.

The event was chaired by Hasin Jahan, Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh, who also delivered the vote of thanks. In her remarks, she emphasised the importance of coordinated research and collaboration among institutions such as the Department of Public Health Engineering, WASA, city corporations and private organisations to strengthen knowledge and support evidence-based decision-making in the WASH sector.

The programme featured a welcome address by Azman Ahmed Chowdhury, Director of Business Development and Quality Assurance at WaterAid Bangladesh, followed by a project presentation by Partha Hefaz Shaikh and an open discussion moderated by Fayazuddin Ahmad.

Around 120 participants-including policymakers, government officials, donor representatives, academics, think tanks, and NGO and INGO representatives—attended the workshop to reflect on the project’s impact.

The WASH4UP Phase II project was implemented in several locations, including Dhaka North and South city corporations, Chattogram and Khulna city corporations, as well as Paikgacha, Sakhipur and Saidpur municipalities, aiming to improve environmental health and resilience among underserved urban communities.

According to project data, around 50,000 people gained access to safe water, while 46,000 people obtained improved sanitation facilities. The initiative also encouraged nearly 90,000 individuals to adopt improved hygiene practices. Additionally, 18,000 people accessed improved health services, 15,000 people benefited from safely managed sanitation through faecal sludge treatment plants, and 16,500 people received door-to-door solid waste management services. Public sanitation facilities established under the project recorded approximately 9.5 million uses by commuters.

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit organisation working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene accessible to everyone, recognising these services as basic human rights essential to everyday life.