“Time bound National Action Plan for Managing Fecal Sludge safely by the town authority will keep Bangladesh focused in achieving SDG 6.2”
Speakers at a National Consultation Workshop emphasizes on successful implementation of Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Faecal Sludge Management (IRF-FSM) to achieve SDG 6.2: ensuring safely managed sanitation for all. Involvement of private sectors and other stakeholders with variety of technological solutions for FSM have also been emphasized in the event.
Speakers at a National Consultation Workshop emphasizes on successful implementation of Institutional and Regulatory Framework for Faecal Sludge Management (IRF-FSM) to achieve SDG 6.2: ensuring safely managed sanitation for all. Involvement of private sectors and other stakeholders with variety of technological solutions for FSM have also been emphasized in the event.
The National Consultation Workshop on Development of a National Action Plan (NAP) for Implementation of IRF-FSM for Paurashava held on 8th April, 2019 at ITN-BUET with the presence of Ms. Roxana Quader, Additional Secretary, Local Government Division (LGD), Ministry of LGRDC as Chief Guest. She told that “in NAP, special attention should be given to the women, children and those who are in vulnerable condition to ensure no one is left behind”. She also urged all the stakeholders to come forward and work with the government to successfully achieve SDG agenda within 2030.
Mr. Md. Abdur Rauf, Joint Secretary, Policy Support Branch (PSB) of LGD said” The action plan was drafted based on real data provided by the Paurashava themselves and as a result it reflects the real scenario of them”.
Prof. Dr. Mujibur Rahman, Advisor, ITN-BUET, who presented the draft of NAP for Paurashava, said “Almost one billion USD will be required to implement FSM in all 329 Paurashavas successfully”. He appreciated the willingness of the Government for implementation of FSM in the country. He also thanked the stakeholders for their valuable feedbacks and constant support to develop this action plan. In his presentation, Dr. Mujib emphasized on national level capacity building to ensure safely managed sanitation for all.
Special Guest of the event Md. Saifur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) said that “Project proposal has been submitted to ministry to implement FSM in all the Paurashavas of the country except 17”. He marked the development of the draft action plan as an important milestone for the WASH sector in Bangladesh.
Mr. Md. Mahbub Hossain, Additional Secretary (Urban Development), LGD, Ministry of LGRD&C suggested to establish the National Coordination Committee for FSM in the Ministry level. Under the guidance of National Coordination Committee as proposed in the NAP, FSM will be implemented in the country with the technical assistance of FSM Support Cell established at DPHE. He mentioned that “FSM implementation would not be possible only by the Government; partnership with the sector actors is essential in this regard”. He also thanked ITN-BUET for technical assistance to develop NAP.
At the end of the event Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Ali, Director, ITN-BUET thanked all the participants for their kind presence, valuable inputs and feedback. The Paurashava NAP is expected to be finalized and operational by May 2019.