In 1951, Bangladesh was mostly a rural country and only 4% of the population lived in urban centres. As of 2011, Bangladesh has an urban population of 28%. The rate of urban population growth is estimated at 2.8%. At this growth rate, Bangladesh’s urban population will reach 79 million or 42% of the population by 2035. The urban centers of Bangladesh have a combined area of about 10600 square kilometers, which is 7% of the total area of Bangladesh. As such, Bangladesh has a very high urban population density: 4028 persons per square kilometre (2011). The number of municipalities have tripled from 104 municipalities in 1991 to 329 as on 2019.

Bangladesh has made significant progress in reducing open defecation, from 34 percent in 1990 to just one percent of the national population in 2015.However, the current rate of improved sanitation is 61 percent, growing at only 1.1 percent annually. Planning and service delivery are often supply driven, and government agencies have overlapping functions and pay insufficient attention to operation and maintenance issues causing waterborne diseases are widespread, which fuels rapid transmission of gastrointestinal pathogens that can have disastrous impact on health and nutrition.

Bangladesh has witnessed a remarkable growth in on-site sanitation facilities throughout the country over the last decade. The major progress in urban sanitation during this period is the elimination of open defecation amongst the poorest quintile through use of on-site sanitation (OSS) facilities. However, the on-site sanitation systems in Bangladesh have been developed without any consideration to the management of faecal sludge. Increasing use of on-site sanitation facilities has generated a large demand for faecal sludge management (FSM) to keep the toilets operational. In the absence of effective FSM services, the huge quantities of faecal sludge generated in septic tanks and pits are often discharged in low-lying areas, sewers, and in lakes and canals, leading to serious environmental degradation. Although the problems associated with FSM is widespread, there is limited data and information on FSM practices in urban areas. There are significant differences in institutional set up and FSM practices among and within the Paurashavas, and proper understanding of the situation is a pre-requisite for development of workable FSM system.

To address the Sanitation challenge and to cover SDG 6.2, the government has adopted policies that could remedy the challenges in the sector e.g. National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation 2014 and Institutional and Regulatory Framework for FSM for Paurashavas and National Action Plan for Implementation of IRF for FSM 2019.

Municipalities in Bangladesh (Paurashavas) other than City Corporations authorities are responsible for management of on-site sanitation facilities (and hence faecal sludge management). As a result, the limited FSM initiatives in these large and high-density urban areas are continuing in an uncoordinated, and not yielding desired results. Among the different components/ elements of faecal sludge management, the emptying/collection services are available in the urban areas studied. Manual emptying, though very hazardous and often more expensive than mechanical emptying, are being practiced in all urban areas. Mechanical desludging services, initiated by some NGOs, Private Sector and Paurashavas, suffer from certain limitations.

A safely managed sanitation chain is essential to protecting the health of individuals and communities and the environment. Leaking latrines and raw wastewater can spread disease and provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes, as well as pollute groundwater and surface water that may serve as potential sources of drinking water.