On 28th May 2022," Journalists’ Workshop on Integrity in WASH "has been successfully conducted by , Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP) at DORP Training Room, Central Office, Shewrapara, Dhaka.

 

Lack of integrity is one of the main barriers to reach the target of WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) programme in the country, say experts.

 

“Integrity in WASH is very much important to attain our SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) by 2030,” Mr. Mohammad Zobair Hassan, Deputy executive director of DORP, a WASH expert said.

 

WASH expert Mr.Sanjoy Mukherje presented the key-note speech at the programme. Mr. Sanjoy Mukherjee said Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.

 

Water integrity means using powers and resources ethically and honestly for the provision of sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services. It is built through It is built through Transparency, Accountability, Participation and the proactive implementation of strong Anti-corruption measures. Bangladesh has taken steps towards the eradication of corruption including becoming a signatory nation to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2007, and establishing an Anti-Corruption Commission. The National Integrity Strategy (NIS) of Bangladesh was approved in 2012.There is inequality in WASH allocation, where cities and towns have received the highest percentage of the allocated funding compared to rural, char, hilly, and coastal areas.

 

The gap of deliveries between urban and rural areas are widening over the years. In five years’ period there happens to be almost no change in shares of urban (80% - 83%) and rural (17%-20%) allocation.

 

The highest ADP allocation goes to metro cities (WASAs) while the secondary towns and hard to reach area remain at the bottom. But the main challenge of WASAs is non-revenue water (NRW). There are technical reasons and lack of integrity involved in making NRW high.