Approval Date: October 2017

Except for a small portion of Dhaka city, all urban and rural areas of Bangladesh are served by onsite sanitation facilities while the huge quantity of faecal sludge generated in pits (of pit/pour-flush latrines) and septic tanks are poorly managed. In rural areas, single-pit (both direct and offset pit) pour flush latrine is the predominant sanitation option; in some areas, twin-pit latrines are being promoted by LGIS and I/NGOs. There is a lack of awareness among concerned stakeholders regarding the adverse impacts of unsafe pit emptying practices, indiscriminate disposal of emptied faecal sludge, and the availability of technological options (e.g., twin pit latrines) which could eliminate/reduce problems associated with faecal sludge. The primary objective of this FSM framework is to facilitate proper faecal sludge management (FSM) in rural areas and set the stage for the FSM service chain implementation in future. Specifically, this framework aims to identify ways and means of safe management of faecal sludge and define specific roles and responsibilities of various institutions and stakeholders, particularly the Union Parishads and Upazila Parishads, for effective management of faecal sludge.