ICDDR,B and ITN-BUET attended the 2nd international workshop on the “Promoting Evidence-Based Investments in Hygiene and Sanitation for Health and Equity (PROMISE)” Project, which took place from 7-11 April 2025 in Accra, Ghana. This is part of a series of workshops to be held under the Project led by Emory University and supported by the Gates Foundation and Reckitt Global Health Institute (RGHI). The workshop was attended by all 14 members of the consortium (the ‘PROMISE’ Consortium) which consists of Makerere University School of Public Health, Makerere University College of Engineering Design Art and Technology, Ministry of Water and Environment Ghana, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Pan African Consortium of Experts (PACE), Emory University Centre for Global Safe WASH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ICDDR,B, ITN-BUET, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) Kenya, TREND Group Ghana, Zambia Institute of Environmental Health, University of Zambia, University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania. Prof. Dr. Tanvir Ahmed is the steering committee member on behalf of the Bangladesh partners. Dr. Mahbubur Rahman (Head of Environmental Interventions Unit, ICDDR,B) and Dr. Nuhu Amin (Associate Scientist, ICDDR,B) also attended the workshop.
The opening session consisted of remarks from distinguished guests: Eugene Larbi (Managing Director, TREND), Kweku Quanisah (Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs), Florence Kuukyi (Accra Metropolitan Assembly), Jamie Nunn (RGHI), Vida Duti (IRC Ghana), Christine Moe (Emory University) and Najib Bateganya (Gates Foundation). The workshop consisted of expert presentations, panel discussions, and coaching sessions for various sanitation tools, field level sampling demonstrations, laboratory visits and so on. Each country presented the application of various sanitation tools in their countries, challenges faced during application and shared next steps in the application process.
ICDDR,B and ITN-BUET are demonstrating the application of Sanipath tool in two municipalities in Bangladesh, Paikgaccha and Lalmonirhat, to assess the public health impact of various WASH interventions in the areas. WaterAid Bangladesh and various NGOs are working in Paikgachha municipality, one of the climate hot spots and vulnerable areas in Bangladesh, to improve water supply access and fecal and solid waste management. It is expected that the application of the Sanipath exposure assessment tool will show dominant pathways for pathogen exposures and help devise and prioritize interventions in these areas. Previous application of this tool in DNCC and DSCC was showcased in a workshop at ITN-BUET.
Prof. Dr. Tanvir Ahmed showcased the application of the WASHFIT tool in 16 healthcare facilities in Bangladesh through poster presentations. The participants appreciated the insights presented from the WASHFIT application in Bangladesh. Dr Nuhu Amin presented the planning for the survey and data collection in Paikgaccha municipality. Dr. Mahbubur Rahman moderated various discussions during the workshop.
Prof Dr. Tanvir Ahmed also delivered a presentation on “Data Management, Visualization and Approaches for Communicating Results: Experience of Bangladesh at National and Sub-national levels”. In his presentation, he discussed the application of various tools (Sanipath, WASHFIT, SFD, SSP, CSDA, IMIS) in the context of Bangladesh and showed how these tools contribute to evidence-based decision-making. He mentioned that Bangladesh has mobilized around 1.5 billion USD funds with the support of development partners in the waste management sector, and many of these investment decisions are aided by sanitation tools such as SFD and WFDs (available at the National Sanitation Dashboard and SuSanA). The IMIS tool is piloted in several municipalities and will be applied in many of these development projects for monitoring service levels in sanitation and waste management. He also mentioned that the Bangladesh Government is in the process of developing a National Sanitation Data Centre, an initiative supported by the Gates Foundation with technical assistance from GWSC and AIT. This basically shows how granular information at the local level can be streamlined in the national context and help us inform and make decisions on investments. The African counterparts at the workshop appreciated the information presented and praised the initiatives of the Bangladesh Government.
The final workshop of the PROMISE consortium is likely to take place in Kampala, Uganda in March 2026.
