Resources / Learning Exchange for West African Countries to Bangladesh 2010

Summary

As many of us have experienced in life, when faced with a difficult problem, one of the best ways to determine a way ahead is to ask the advice of someone who has faced a similar situation in the past. This is exactly the logic that motivated a group of extremely enthusiastic WASH practitioners from Liberia and Sierra Leone to visit Bangladesh in November 2010, to talk to people in Dhaka and rural Chittagong about how to address issues of sanitation, hygiene and water supply. Bangladesh was chosen as destination because the country has been a global leader in implementing new approaches driven by community-led, bottom-up demand creation. 

The countries have much in common. They share similar challenges including the disruption of societies torn apart by war and violence, certain geographic features, increased urbanization, extreme poverty among many members of society and huge challenges to improve the access to safe sanitation. But they also share many of the same advantages: community leaders committed to improving the social and economic development of their nations, forward looking populations who are optimistic about the prospects for their children, and dedicated professionals who recognize the urgency of ensuring good sanitation, hygiene and water for all members of society.

The delegates from West Africa, nine people from Liberia and two from Sierra Leone, represented a cross-section from government and civil society, including faith-based groups, women’s alliances and youth groups. The week-long programme involved meetings and site visits to examine different programmatic approaches, including Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), sanitation marketing, and urban programming. The participants were enthusiastic to learn about sanitary toilets adapted for the disabled, ecological sanitation and biogas. Staff members from the national NGOs Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK) and Village Education Resource Centre (VERC), the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), and members of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) National Coalition Bangladesh were generous in sharing their expertise and time with the delegates.

The learning trip was devised, and primarily funded by WSSCC, with support to individual delegates being offered by WaterAid and WASH Consortium Liberia. Visits to programme sites were structured so that there was ample time for questions and discussion: with both project staff and members of the community. In the evenings, delegates gathered to share impressions, and plan how these could be applied to challenges back home.

The set consists of the report and two Powerpoint presentations that describe the lessons learned and experiences from the exchange visit.