BRAC WASH Programmes

BRAC in Bangladesh started its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in 2006 in partnership with the Government. The programme provides sustainable and integrated WASH services to over 37 million people in the rural areas and aims to break the contamination cycle of unsanitary latrines, contaminated water and unsafe hygiene practices, as well as ensure sustainability and scaling-up of WASH services. IRC has provided support on design, capacity building and implementation of the programme, which is carried out with financial support of the Dutch Government, DFID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Competition? I am the best”

Mrs. Rasheda Sahab, the 38-year old widow has come a long way from the uncertain situation in which she was left by her husband’s death in 2006. His medical expenses left her penniless, with a ten month old son and three other children to support. Rasheda’s husband had run a small sanitation shop in Hobirbari village of Bhalukasub-district, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, and although she had only occasionally helped out in the shop, Rasheda had no choice but to take over the business.

Village WASH committee function leads to getting elected in local elections

The Village Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Committee (VWC) of Kadigor Village in Kachina Union of Bhaluka Upazila (sub-district) is in session when we meet them to document their progress and to interview a few of their members. BRAC revived existing but non-functioning VWCs from the start of its WASH programme in 2006 to 2011. A committee consists of 11 members: 6 women and 5 men. The committee has meetings every two months to discuss progress and to help solve problems as they may occur.

Read the latest opinions, blog posts, interviews, field stories and more from BRAC and IRC staff regarding WASH services in South Asia.

Developing a performance monitoring system that can be applied at scale in BRAC WASH

Over the last year, BRAC has tested and developed a performance monitoring system that will, over the coming year, be rolled out to track the progress of WASH across nearly half of Bangladesh. The system uses innovative technology to enable monitoring at such a large scale. A smartphone app uses a simplified form of Qualitative Information System (QIS) software.

An innovative monitoring approach called SenseMaker has also been piloted. Together, these methods enable changes in behaviour – which are often hard to quantify – to be expressed in the form of data from which lessons can be drawn. Also read the E-Source article.

BRAC WASH monitoring process.pdf (1.0 MB)

Photo stories from Bangladesh

Photo stories on the BRAC WASH Programme in Bangladesh.

About BRAC WASH II

BRAC WASH II is the second phase of the WASH programme. It aims for a sustained change in personal/family hygiene, sanitation and water safety. The programme focuses on sustainably improved household and school sanitation and hygiene practices, and safe drinking water use. The BRAC WASH II programme is jointly funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands (EKN)/DGIS, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). IRC provides targeted inputs BRAC to strengthen the design, methods and capacities for achieving a measurable leap in WASH in Bangladesh.