WASH sector budget drops 40% in three years: experts

A pre-budget media briefing organised by the Network of WASH Networks has raised concern over the continued decline in public financing for Bangladesh’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, warning that the trend could undermine progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

The budget analysis, prepared by WaterAid Bangladesh and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), showed that allocations for the WASH sector under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) have dropped sharply over the past three years.

According to the analysis, WASH sector funding reached Tk187.28 billion in FY2022-23 before declining to Tk149.81 billion in FY2023-24, Tk116.17 billion in FY2024-25 and Tk109.01 billion in the current FY2025-26 fiscal year.

Speaking at the briefing, PPRC Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman said the sector has experienced a 40% reduction in funding within three years despite increases in the national development budget.

He said the decline reflected a major mismatch between national development priorities and financing for public health, local government infrastructure and water systems.

Advocate Fayazuddin Ahmad, head of policy advocacy at WaterAid Bangladesh, said 98% of the population uses improved water sources, but access to safely managed drinking water stands at only 55% nationwide, according to the preliminary MICS 2025 report.

He said a 23 percentage point gap remains between urban and rural areas, with coverage at 71% in urban areas compared to 48% in rural regions due to structural funding inequalities and widespread arsenic and microbial contamination in rural tube wells.

The briefing also highlighted disparities in WASH budget allocation across regions and institutions.

According to the analysis, around two-thirds of the total WASH development budget is allocated to urban areas, municipalities and Water Supply and Sewerage Authorities (WASAs). Of the total urban allocation, 42.6% was allocated to four WASAs serving older cities, while Dhaka WASA alone received nearly 29% of the national WASH allocation.

The report also found that within city corporations, Dhaka North and Gazipur received more than 62% of the allocation, while Rajshahi, Rangpur, Cumilla, Sylhet and Dhaka South city corporations received no allocation in FY2025-26.

The briefing noted that hard-to-reach areas, including char lands, haors, coastal belts and hilly districts, received only 10.22% of the national WASH sector ADP fund.

Mohammad Zobair Hasan of the International Water Association (IWA) said current spending patterns undermine the National Adaptation Plan (NAP 2023-2050), as climate change continues to affect water resources through sea-level rise, flooding and groundwater depletion.

The Network of WASH Networks placed several recommendations for the upcoming budget, including reversing the declining funding trend, ensuring more equitable distribution of resources, introducing a monthly WASH allowance of Tk300-Tk500 for extremely poor households and expanding WASH facilities in schools and health institutions.

Mohammad Abdul Wazed said local government institutions need technical capacity, digital monitoring systems and operational funding to manage WASH infrastructure sustainably.

Representatives from different organisations, including FSM Network, BWWA, CUP, BAWIN, FANSA and EWP, also attended the briefing.