Background of the Dashboard

Bangladesh stands out as a country that has made remarkable progress in eliminating the scourge of open defecation. However, this success has created a ‘second-generation’ sanitation challenge of how to deal safely with the fecal sludge collected from pit latrines and septic tanks. As on-site sanitation solutions develop, the question of sustainable and inclusive waste and fecal sludge management (FSM) is now at the heart of the challenge in Bangladesh. In this situation introduction of effective and feasible technologies for ensuring at least a basic service to the people of the city corporations and District towns in a sustainable manner is very important. For that, a rapid assessment for 8 city corporations and 53 District towns is indispensable to determine the area and population to be served, the demand of the service, options of the technological solutions in FSM and Solid Waste Management Chain, public acceptance and willingness to pay, required investment, operation and maintenance, and other aspects. To address these growing concerns, particularly for the cities and large towns where the problem is acute, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) has taken up a Technical Assistance Project named, “Feasibility for Implementing of Solid Waste and Fecal Sludge Management System in 53 District Level Paurashava and 8 City Corporations”. Combining FSM and SWM in one package will have synergy in the planning, implementation, operations, and maintenance of the systems. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has provided technical and financial support for this project. The Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) is the implementing agency of the project and had engaged DE Consultants Limited (DevCon), in association with Tiller, as the Consultant to carry out a study, namely, “Rapid Assessment for Establishing IT and GIS Based Smart Solid Waste & Fecal Sludge Management Systems”. The results of the study will be a basis for preparing investment projects by the government and development partners, and sustainable plans for operating and maintaining the systems by the City authorities.
The data visualized in this dashboard were collected from field survey under this project- carried during the year 2020. Primary data had been collected from household survey and the secondary data were collected from the local government authorities and other relevant institutions. Key Informants’ Interview and Focus Group Discussions with different groups of people had been carried out to assess and summarize the survey results. The household survey, in each town, had been carried out based on stratified random sampling technique with 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error