Continuing the momentum of the previous ones, UNOPS Bangladesh organized another successful completion of the flagship roundtable SDG Café, an event aimed at propelling sustainable development goals in Bangladesh. With a focus on SDG 6: Bangladesh’s Journey in Ensuring Access to Sustainable WASH Services. The Café participants discussed “Bangladesh’s Journey in Ensuring Access to Sustainable WASH Services.” The third episode took place on June 6, 2023, at the UNOPS Bangladesh premises in Dhaka.
In this edition too, the SDG Café gathered key stakeholders from the Government of Bangladesh, academia/think tanks, UN agencies, INGOs, Bi-Laterals and multilateral Development partners, and policy advisors. The event fostered insightful discussions and meaningful dialogues, exploring the current scenario and way forward to increase access to sustainable WaSH services in Bangladesh and achieve SDG 6.
The Keynote speaker for this session, Hasin Jahan, Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh, shared her insights from her extensive experience. Her expertise highlighted the present reality and future way forward in developing sustainable and accessible WaSH services. Ms. Jahan said, “Access to clean water is the single most basic human requirement for overall well-being. Although Bangladesh has made great progress in water coverage, more efforts are needed to increase access to quality water. We hope that businesses and organizations will focus on contribution in this regard with their expertise and foster the well-being of communities while contributing to SDG 6.”
Distinguished representatives from WaterAid, Water.org, Practical Action, Simavi, SNV, and UNICEF actively participated in the event, along with others, enriching the discussions and contributing their expertise to drive positive change.
Reflecting on the event, Mr. Sudhir Muralidharan, Country Manager of UNOPS Bangladesh, expressed his delight, “This episode of the SDG Café facilitated insightful discussions and highlighted the present reality and future path for developing sustainable and accessible WaSH services. UNOPS brings its extensive experience developing WaSH infrastructure from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka to the Middle East and Africa. We have a long history of building water resource management systems and developing WaSH provisions in rural and urban communities and institutions.”
SDG Café’s third episode once again presented an engaging platform for information exchange, inclusive dialogue, and relationship building. The SDG Café is part of UNOPS Bangladesh’s ongoing efforts to promote sustainable development in the country. The event keeps on providing a forum for essential stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions and work on successful SDG-achievement strategies.