Bangladesh: Towards “sanitation for all by 2010”

DHAKA, 4 March 2008 (IRIN) - “Half the slum is knee-deep in water during high monsoons. There is no electricity, no water supply. And the worst is that we do not have toilets,” said Tara Mia, a vegetable hawker who lives with his wife and three children in a Dhaka slum.

From 2010-2015 Bangladesh will be aiming at achieving 100 percent sanitation coverage through regular supply of hardware and proper maintenance, coupled with a sustained campaign on hygienic hand-washing habits.

According to the government, the sanitation coverage figure is 85 percent, while a multiple indicator cluster survey conducted in 2006 revealed that 39 percent of people had access to improved sanitation facilities.

“Government figures are giving reasonable estimates of households that have a toilet of some description, but not necessarily conforming to the accepted slab and ring latrine which is a standard of improved sanitation,” Paul Edwards of UNICEF said.

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