Child Equity Atlas - BIDS

Child Equity Atlas
5.4.1 In order to assess vulnerability and relative
social deprivation status of households in different
regions of the country, two additional indicators
have been included which combine the indicators
discussed before. The first is the combination of
households without access to sanitary toilet and
without electricity connection, and the second
is households with access to both sanitary toilet
and electricity. This combined household social
deprivation measure shows that overall 43.3 per
cent of households have access to both a sanitary
toilet and electricity connection while 23.6
per cent have access to neither sanitary toilets
nor electricity. There are, however, significant
variations between districts and upazilas with
respect to access to these utilities (see Maps 5.8 to
5.11). The relative status of districts with respect
to these indicators is shown in Tables 5.5 and 5.6,
depicting samples of best and worst performing
districts only.
Table 5.5: Proportion of households having
access to both sanitary toilet and electricity
connection: Best and worst districts,
Bangladesh 2011
Srl. Best districts Worst districts
District % District %
1. Dhaka 91.7 Gaibandha 14.3
2. Narayanganj 76.3 Thakurgaon 14.9
3. Munshiganj 76.2 Kurigram 15.2
4. Gazipur 72.9 Lalmonirhat 15.4
5. Chittagong 66.4 Bandarban 16.4
Bangladesh: 43.3%
Table 5.6: Proportion of households having
no access to sanitary toilet and electricity
connection: Best and worst districts,
Bangladesh 2011
Srl. Best districts Worst districts
District % District %
1. Dhaka 1.2 Bandarban 61.6
2. Narayanganj 2.9 Gaibandha 54.4
3. Munshiganj 4.4 Thakurgaon 52.5
4. Gazipur 7.5 Sunamganj 52.1
5. Comilla 8.5 Khagrachhari 50.8
Bangladesh: 23.6%
5.4.2 The performance of Bangladesh in some
of these indicators on utilities and household
facilities in this chapter should be viewed from
many perspectives. While successive Governments
continue to prioritize infrastructural development
plus social investments, social movements, UN
Agencies, donors, civil society and communities have
made meaningful contributions in promoting the use
of toilets, and reduced open defecation remarkably.
According to WHO/UNICEF JMP (2012 22 ), 56 per
cent of the population of Bangladesh has access
to improved sanitation facilities, with remarkable
reduction in open defecation to four per cent–
successes attributable to multiple partnerships,
Government leadership and community ownership
of social development, including children engaged
in whistle blowing and other aspects of Community
Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). This chapter of the Equity
Atlas points the way forward to the pockets of
persisting locations where further work is required
in Bangladesh, to ensure equity in the pursuit of
socioeconomic rights of children and women.
22
WHO/UNICEF 2012, Progress on Drinking Water and
Sanitation: 2012 Update.http://www.unicef.org/media/files/
JMPreport2012.pdf
Photo : Ibrahim Khan Moni
74