GIANT STRIDE IN ATTAINING SDG-6: ACCESS TO SAFE WATER FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal-6, Target 6.1 pronounces “By 2030, achieve
universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all”.
Burden of water-borne diseases and loss of energy due to unsafe water can
create heavy cost burden hindering socio-economic development. In this back
drop, the purpose of this paper is to look into the overall scenario of ‘Access to
safe water’ in Bangladesh for better understanding of its impact on the socioeconomic
development and propose ways forward. Reviewing SDG-6 Target 6.1,
this study analyses the role of safe water in socio-economic development of
Bangladesh and made an endeavor for opportunity cost analysis in social and
economic aspects of access to safe water. This study estimated the costs of
health impact for four water-borne diseases (diarrhoea, hepatitis, typhoid and
arsenicosis), costs of water fetching and water treatment, productivity costs due
to time losses and found annual economic impact of inadequate access to safe
water to be Tk.336.93 billion, equivalent to USD 4.32 billion which is 2.5 percent
of Bangladesh’s GDP for the year 2014. The value of intangible cost of social
impact in terms of decrease in the sense of social security is much higher which
cannot be calculated in terms of monetary value. The findings of this study reveal
that universal and equitable access to safe water for all has positive impact on
socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Finalization and implementation
of Draft National Water and Sanitation Strategy 2014, strengthening water sector
response, increasing investment in priority areas of water sector and improving
quality of water at source, storage and at the point of consumption get priority
in the implementation of national action plan to ensure adequate and affordable access to safe water to all by 2030. This is a giant stride in attaining the SDG-6 and demands strong leadership and commitment from government, civil society,
academicians and business leaders.