35th WEDC International Conference, Loughborough, UK, 2011

WaterAid Bangladesh — achieving sustainable environmental health

WaterAid Bangladesh (WAB) has been working in Bangladesh implementing water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities since 1986. In 2004 WAB started a 5-year DFID funded project called ‘Achieving Sustainable Environmental Health’ (ASEH) which aimed at reaching the poorest, geographically excluded people living in hydro-geologically difficult areas of the country. In little over 5 years the project has reached nearly 6million beneficiaries with safe and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene promotional activities in both urban and rural areas. During the implementation of ASEH it became evident that certain populations were unintentionally being excluded from the project – people with disabilities were one of these groups (others include sex workers, tea workers, street sweepers, floating people). The standard models used by front line staff and engineers in awareness raising, building capacity, hygiene promotion and in the choice and installation of technologies were not addressing the specific needs of people with disabilities. Social stigmas and access difficulties meant that they were not present in meetings, CBOs or hygiene promotional sessions. Technologies chosen by the communities/households most of the time did not take into account the specific requirements of those with disabilities. In addition many other people such as the elderly, pregnant women, the sick and injured faced problems in accessing and using water and sanitation facilities and as a result returned to unsafe practices. This paper concentrates on the barriers faced by people with disabilities in Bangladesh and how through WaterAid Bangladesh’s recent pilot project these barriers are being broken.

Disability and poverty It is recognised by many (DFID 2000, UNESCO 1995) that poor nutrition, dangerous living and working conditions, limited access to health care and education, poor hygiene and bad sanitation are some of the causes of disability. Sadly, these are also some of the conditions which are exacerbated by disabilities and which ensure that people with disabilities are usually the poorest, have low literacy rates, poor health and have poor access to services. Poor access to education, health care and employment, lead to social and economic exclusion – resulting in lack of opportunities to participate in community activities and decision making, families and difficulties in generating income and increasing the workload on caretakers.