PARTNERSHIP IN RURAL WATER-SUPPLY AND SANITATION - A CASE-STUDY FROM BANGLADESH

A non-governmental organization (NGO) for drinking water supply and sa nitation conducted a two-year rural Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) project in wide areas of rural Bangladesh. The project provided handpu mps, latrines, and hygiene education to rural people through NGO partn ers. Its performance was evaluated through interviews with women users , women pump caretakers and trainers from partner NGOs. Of 295 health NGOs (partners), 233 NGOs participated in the water supply programme a nd 153 of them participated in the sanitation programme. This multi-ag ency collaboration demonstrated the potential for reaching widespread underserved and unserved people in a logistically efficient way. About 100 000 people were provided with access to handpumps. The potential for revolving the financial assistance in sanitary latrine production/ promotion was observed. The project, however, lacked the 'soft-ware' a chievements, that is, community participation, personal hygiene practi ces and effective use and maintenance of the WSS provisions. This reco nfirms the difficulties experienced in this field, even at multi-agenc y collaboration levels. Sustainable measures for 'hardware' as well as 'software' activities should be addressed appropriately at multi-agen cy levels also.