Bangladesh
Bangladesh's water and sanitation crisis
Bangladesh has one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia, however its economic growth has not benefited all areas of the country equally. Out of its population of 171 million people, 70 million people (40% of the population) lack access to safe water, and 118 million people (69%) lack access to a safe toilet.
Bangladesh is a global leader when it comes to microfinance and is known as the birthplace of this innovative financial model. Since the 1970s, vibrant and sustained growth in the microfinance sector has resulted in enormous impact on financial inclusion of those living in poverty, particularly women.
Bangladesh’s high need for water and sanitation improvements, along with its healthy microfinance sector and government support, make it an ideal market for Water.org’s financial solutions to the water crisis.
Our impact in Bangladesh
Since 2004, Water.org has partnered with some of Bangladesh’s leading microfinance institutions – including ASA, BURO Bangladesh and TMSS – to help empower more than 10.5 million people with access to water or sanitation through small, affordable loans, contributing significantly to the country’s progress towards improved water, sanitation, and hygiene.
To date, Water.org has partnered with several leading microfinance institutions and an apex microfinance organization to implement our WaterCredit solution. More than 2.2 million loans have been disbursed by our partners, mobilizing more than $770 million in capital to help people living in poverty get access to safe water and sanitation solutions.
This impact helped build the case for the importance of water and sanitation financing at the national level. We have strong engagement with peer organizations and sector stakeholders in Bangladesh, such as the Ministry of Planning, UNICEF, Swisscontact, and apex microfinance organization, InM. Through our systems level work, including sharing best practices through sector learning platforms, the government of Bangladesh increased water and sanitation funding by 30% starting in 2019.
A vision for future impact in Bangladesh
Water.org has demonstrated success in microfinance-based water and sanitation lending in Bangladesh, and we continue to expand impact with our current partners and create new partnerships with additional microfinance institutions and commercial banks to help get affordable financing for water and sanitation solutions to more families in need.
We also recognize that constraints on water and sanitation access are broader than inadequate household level financing. In addition to our core work, we are exploring partnerships with other types of organizations that can serve to increase access. In Bangladesh, we are seeking to work directly with public and private financial institutions, WASH small and medium enterprises (SMEs), water and sanitation service providers, and utilities to catalyze commercial investments in the sector and enable partners to improve services and expand their overall coverage areas, reaching a greater percentage of people at the base of the economic pyramid and supporting climate resiliency for people in need.
Bangladesh impact statistics
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