This project revised and updated the National Strategy for Water and Sanitation in Hard-to-Reach Areas of Bangladesh (2012) to ensure its continued relevance in response to evolving national priorities, global commitments, and climate-related challenges. Since the adoption of the 2012 strategy, significant changes have occurred in the WASH sector, including the introduction of the SDGs, updated national WASH policies, and new climate adaptation and sector development frameworks.

The revision process, initiated in 2025, followed a structured and consultative approach, including an inception phase, field assessments across diverse hard-to-reach contexts, and multiple rounds of technical committee reviews and national-level stakeholder consultations. The revised strategy aligns its operational timeframe with the SDGs (2025–2030) and the WASH Sector Development Plan (2026–2040). It incorporates common and area-specific WASH challenges, climate-resilient and context-appropriate solutions, institutional and capacity strengthening measures, financing options, stakeholder engagement mechanisms, and monitoring systems. The final draft, prepared in both English and Bangla, is ready for final endorsement and implementation.

The initiative was carried out by WaterAid Bangladesh and Participatory Management Initiative for Development (PMID) in association with CSIRS-UIU. Dr. Md. Mujibur Rahman, Professor of Civil Engineering Department at UIU & Director of CSIRS-UIU was the team leader of this project.