From Budget to Better Services: ITN-BUET and Bangladesh FSM Network Host SaniTalk Cafe on Municipal Sanitation Financing

The sixth session of SaniTalk Cafe jointly organized by ITN-BUET and the Bangladesh FSM Network, held on 24 June 2026, focused on the theme "From Budget to Service Delivery: Understanding Municipal Sanitation Financing Gaps in Bangladesh". The online session brought together more than 40 participants from municipalities, city corporations, government agencies, academia, NGOs, private sector operators, and development partners to discuss municipal sanitation financing and identify practical solutions for strengthening service delivery. 

Participants included representatives from Kushtia, Faridpur, Lakshmipur, Jhenaidah, Sakhipur, Kalaroa, Lalmonirhat, and Rajbari municipality, as well as Cumilla, Sylhet, and Chattogram City Corporations, alongside organizations such as DPHE, WaterAid Bangladesh, WSUP, Practical Action Bangladesh, SNV, BASA Foundation, Finland Mondial, B-Scan, VERC and Space.

The session was moderated by Professor Dr. Rowshan Mamtaz, director of ITN-BUET, who emphasized the importance of strengthening dialogue and collaboration to address municipal sanitation financing challenges. Delivering the welcome remarks Ms. Ishrat Shabnam, country director of Practical Action Bangladesh highlighted the need for stronger partnerships, institutional coordination, and knowledge sharing to improve sanitation budget planning and implementation.

A technical presentation by Kazi Amin, Knowledge Management Specialist of ITN-BUET provided an overview of Bangladesh's WASH financing landscape, highlighting trends in budget allocation, expenditure, and implementation. The presentation noted that while WASH investments have increased, significant disparities remain across municipalities and sub-sectors. It also highlighted that the average WASH budget utilization rate is approximately 74 percent, indicating that strengthening institutional capacity is as important as increasing financial allocations. Despite its critical role in achieving Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS), fecal sludge management (FSM) continues to receive relatively limited financial investment.

During the interactive discussion, participants identified several challenges affecting municipal sanitation financing and service delivery, including gaps between budget allocation and implementation, limited technical capacity, inadequate operation and maintenance financing, weak budget tracking systems, staff shortages, and delays in procurement and fund disbursement. Participants also emphasized the need for integrated planning, stronger coordination among government agencies, and greater municipal capacity to ensure that sanitation investments respond to local priorities and translate into sustainable services.

The session concluded with recommendations to adopt a Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF), strengthen budget tracking systems, increase investment in FSM, enhance municipal technical capacity, and promote evidence-based planning. Participants also emphasized the importance of greater coordination among government institutions, development partners, and the private sector to improve long-term sanitation financing. In the closing remarks, the ITN-BUET team thanked participants for their active engagement and reaffirmed the FSM Network Bangladesh's commitment to supporting municipalities through continued knowledge exchange, capacity development, and collaborative dialogue to advance SDG 6 and Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) across Bangladesh.

In the closing remarks, the moderator thanked all participants for their active engagement and valuable contributions. She reaffirmed ITN-BUET's commitment to strengthening municipal capacities through knowledge exchange, research, capacity development, and multi-stakeholder dialogue, while continuing to support evidence-based policies and practices that advance SDG 6 and Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) across Bangladesh. 

The sixth session of SaniTalk Cafe reinforced the importance of moving beyond discussions on budget allocation towards a broader focus on effective financing, institutional capacity, and sustainable service delivery. By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders the session fostered meaningful dialogue, shared practical experiences, and generated actionable recommendations to address municipal sanitation financing challenges. The insights and recommendations emerging from the session are expected to inform future policy discussions, strengthen municipal financial planning and management, and encourage more strategic investments in sanitation. As a collaborative knowledge platform, SaniTalk Cafe continues to serve as a catalyst for innovation, partnership, and evidence-based decision-making, contributing to the advancement of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) and the achievement of SDG 6 in Bangladesh.