Approval Date: November 2012

In Bangladesh, water is generally perceived as a perpetual free gift of nature. The fact remains that it is becoming scarce and which have certain economic value. Sanitation services such as sewerage, drainage, and waste management, especially in urban areas, are highly expensive, and service coverage and levels are constrained due to its questioned financial viability. Given the context, many people still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation in the country. The cost of under-provision is revealed in poor public health and the financial costs of people making alternative arrangements. This strategy document is developed to provide functional ways and facilitate a uniform practice with reasonable flexibility regarding cost sharing for water supply and sanitation services in Bangladesh. Keeping targets of achieving financial viability of the sector services as well as the sustainability of the delivery system, it contains relevant policy interpretation, economical pricing, tariff design approaches, and promotion of demand-responsiveness and strategies of gradual phasing out of subsidies, among others. This has also aimed to achieve a standardized and sustainable service delivery system through enhancing a balanced cost sharing between users and service providers.