11:13 am, Friday, 10 October 2025
BREAKING NEWS
Reviving the Rural Economy: $100 Million ADB–Bangladesh Agreement The Journey Begins for Cox’s Bazar’s First Plastic Recycling Plant Why the world’s biggest food company is stepping back Nestlé has withdrawn from a high-profile international alliance to cut methane from dairy supply chains, a move that instantly sharpened debate over how fast and by what methods the sector should decarbonize; the company says it will keep pursuing on-farm emissions cuts through its own programs while reassessing the group’s approach and governance, but the exit deprives the coalition of its most recognizable member and risks slowing peer benchmarking, shared pilot data, and pooled purchasing that can bring down costs for farmers. Methane from cattle is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant, and many governments have leaned on voluntary industry compacts to accelerate adoption of feed additives, manure management, and breeding strategies; critics of Nestlé’s decision warn that a fragmentation of efforts could reduce transparency and make it harder for buyers, lenders, and regulators to compare progress across brands, whereas supporters counter that company-led projects tied to local agronomy and subsidies often deliver faster, measurable gains than broad global charters. The policy backdrop is shifting as well: several markets are moving from pure carrots to a mix of incentives and performance-based conditions on grants and export supports, and that pivot raises stakes for how milk processors document emissions baselines and third-party verification, because the credibility of Scope 3 targets rests on comparable methodologies rather than marketing claims alone. Practically, much of the abatement economics hinge on who pays for early-stage inputs like methane-reducing feed supplements and slurry lids; with farm margins tight, a coordinated model—blending buyer premiums, public cost-shares, and green-finance instruments—is usually needed to avoid penalizing smaller producers, and Nestlé’s departure complicates the coalition’s ability to aggregate demand and negotiate lower unit costs at scale. What changes on the farm, for financiers, and across supply chains For producers, the near-term signal is mixed: one major buyer is still funding on-farm pilots but no longer inside the alliance’s shared roadmap, which could slow knowledge transfer between regions that differ on climate, feed, and herd structure, even as individual Nestlé programs continue to trial seaweed-based additives, nitrification inhibitors, covered lagoons with biogas capture, and pasture rotations to improve enteric and manure outcomes; in parallel, veterinarians and breeders stress that fertility and animal health gains can cut emissions intensity without shrinking output, though activists argue absolute reductions are needed if national targets are to be met. Financiers and insurers will keep pressing for comparable disclosures because the cost of capital increasingly reflects climate-risk metrics: banks baking “sustainability-linked” terms into dairy loans need clear, auditable KPIs, and exporters eyeing tariff-free access to markets with carbon-border rules will face tougher paperwork if standards splinter, which is why industry groups are urging a minimum common MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) framework even when brand strategies differ. For consumers—and for downstream brands in chocolate, infant formula, and ice cream—the implications will show up more in labels and price architecture than in the taste of products: if buyers pay farmers for verified methane abatement while feed and equipment remain pricey, some costs may pass through, but over time biogas revenue, fertilizer substitution, and efficiency gains can offset outlays and stabilize retail pricing. The political risk is that today’s corporate exit becomes tomorrow’s cultural flashpoint, especially in countries where farmer protests have already shaped election cycles; to avoid backlash, climate policy designers are experimenting with “pay for performance” that rewards measured reductions rather than prescribing a single technology path. The bottom line is not that dairy decarbonization stalls, but that governance gets messier: Nestlé’s solo track keeps momentum on pilots yet raises coordination costs for everyone else, and the outcome to watch is whether competing alliances converge on interoperable data, verification, and crediting rules so that farmers can sell a ton of avoided methane once—and get recognized for it across buyers, banks, and border regimes. SOFTBANK BUYS ABB’S ROBOTICS UNIT FOR $5.4B, BETTING ON A NEW WAVE OF FACTORY AUTOMATION Nurul Majid Humayun’s Death and the Placement of Prisons under the International Red Cross IEA TRIMS U.S. RENEWABLES OUTLOOK AS FEDERAL POLICIES SHIFT; GLOBAL SOLAR STILL SURGES GAZA TALKS ENTER DAY THREE IN EGYPT AS MEDIATORS TEST PATH TO FULL CEASE-FIRE OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY PRIME DAY, AGAIN: WIRED’S BIG LIST SHOWS HOW TO SHOP SMART AND SKIP THE DUDS TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET TEASES ‘MARTY SUPREME’ AFTER NYFF PREMIERE, KEEPING PLOT UNDER WRAPS
Home / Bangladesh, Health

icddr,b Study Reveals Poor Toilet Access and Hygiene Conditions in Hospitals in Dhaka

Sarakhon Desk

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 10 June 2024:A recent study across 12 government and private hospitals in Dhaka found that 68% of government hospital toilets were functional, with only 33% clean, while in private hospitals, 92% were functional, but only 56% were clean. Conducted by icddr,b scientists in collaboration with partners at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Bangladesh, the study was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Poor toilet access and hygiene pose significant health risks, potentially spreading diseases like cholera and typhoid. Proper sanitation and its accessibility are particularly crucial in hospitals, where disease-causing pathogens are expected to commonly circulate. The study evaluated 2,459 toilets in Dhaka’s healthcare facilities to assess the availability, functionality, and cleanliness of toilets.

High user-to-toilet ratios were observed in outpatient facilities, with one toilet for every 214 users in government hospitals and 94 users in private hospitals, significantly below the recommended standards set by WaterAid. According to their guidelines for the construction of institutional toilets in outpatient facilities, there should be one toilet for every 20–25 patients or carers, up to the first 100 individuals, with an additional toilet for every additional 50 patients or carers.

Additionally, both government and private hospitals failed to meet the criterion of one toilet per six inpatient beds by the Bangladesh national WASH standard and implementation guidelines from 2021. There were 17 users for each toilet in government hospitals and 19 users per toilet in private hospitals. Beyond basic functionality, hygiene, and availability, less than 1% of toilets had facilities for disabled people, and only 3% of toilets had a trash bin for menstrual pad and solid disposal.

The researchers defined toilet functionality according to criteria used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF and assessed toilet cleanliness based on the presence of visible faeces on any surface, strong faecal odour, flies, sputum, insects, rodents, and solid waste.

“The actual sanitation conditions in Dhaka hospitals may be worse than what we found as our study was conducted in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when many hospitals were shifting from mainly treating COVID-19 patients to general medical care. This could have led to reduced patient flow and toilet usage,” said icddr,b’s Associate Scientist and principal investigator of the study Dr Md. Nuhu Amin. Dr Nuhu Amin said directed increase in resources allocated for maintaining clean and working toilets in hospitals is needed, with a particular focus on meeting gendered needs and those of disabled persons.

Globally, there is a lack of studies characterizing toilet conditions and estimating user-to-toilet ratios in large urban hospitals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Ensuring basic sanitation for all is a priority for countries to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The study addresses the research gap in LMICs and provides important data to drive policy changes at the national level to tackle the critical health problem of inadequate sanitation in healthcare facilities in Dhaka.

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04:09:40 pm, Monday, 1 July 2024

Reviving the Rural Economy: $100 Million ADB–Bangladesh Agreement

The Journey Begins for Cox’s Bazar’s First Plastic Recycling Plant

Why the world’s biggest food company is stepping back Nestlé has withdrawn from a high-profile international alliance to cut methane from dairy supply chains, a move that instantly sharpened debate over how fast and by what methods the sector should decarbonize; the company says it will keep pursuing on-farm emissions cuts through its own programs while reassessing the group’s approach and governance, but the exit deprives the coalition of its most recognizable member and risks slowing peer benchmarking, shared pilot data, and pooled purchasing that can bring down costs for farmers. Methane from cattle is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant, and many governments have leaned on voluntary industry compacts to accelerate adoption of feed additives, manure management, and breeding strategies; critics of Nestlé’s decision warn that a fragmentation of efforts could reduce transparency and make it harder for buyers, lenders, and regulators to compare progress across brands, whereas supporters counter that company-led projects tied to local agronomy and subsidies often deliver faster, measurable gains than broad global charters. The policy backdrop is shifting as well: several markets are moving from pure carrots to a mix of incentives and performance-based conditions on grants and export supports, and that pivot raises stakes for how milk processors document emissions baselines and third-party verification, because the credibility of Scope 3 targets rests on comparable methodologies rather than marketing claims alone. Practically, much of the abatement economics hinge on who pays for early-stage inputs like methane-reducing feed supplements and slurry lids; with farm margins tight, a coordinated model—blending buyer premiums, public cost-shares, and green-finance instruments—is usually needed to avoid penalizing smaller producers, and Nestlé’s departure complicates the coalition’s ability to aggregate demand and negotiate lower unit costs at scale. What changes on the farm, for financiers, and across supply chains For producers, the near-term signal is mixed: one major buyer is still funding on-farm pilots but no longer inside the alliance’s shared roadmap, which could slow knowledge transfer between regions that differ on climate, feed, and herd structure, even as individual Nestlé programs continue to trial seaweed-based additives, nitrification inhibitors, covered lagoons with biogas capture, and pasture rotations to improve enteric and manure outcomes; in parallel, veterinarians and breeders stress that fertility and animal health gains can cut emissions intensity without shrinking output, though activists argue absolute reductions are needed if national targets are to be met. Financiers and insurers will keep pressing for comparable disclosures because the cost of capital increasingly reflects climate-risk metrics: banks baking “sustainability-linked” terms into dairy loans need clear, auditable KPIs, and exporters eyeing tariff-free access to markets with carbon-border rules will face tougher paperwork if standards splinter, which is why industry groups are urging a minimum common MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) framework even when brand strategies differ. For consumers—and for downstream brands in chocolate, infant formula, and ice cream—the implications will show up more in labels and price architecture than in the taste of products: if buyers pay farmers for verified methane abatement while feed and equipment remain pricey, some costs may pass through, but over time biogas revenue, fertilizer substitution, and efficiency gains can offset outlays and stabilize retail pricing. The political risk is that today’s corporate exit becomes tomorrow’s cultural flashpoint, especially in countries where farmer protests have already shaped election cycles; to avoid backlash, climate policy designers are experimenting with “pay for performance” that rewards measured reductions rather than prescribing a single technology path. The bottom line is not that dairy decarbonization stalls, but that governance gets messier: Nestlé’s solo track keeps momentum on pilots yet raises coordination costs for everyone else, and the outcome to watch is whether competing alliances converge on interoperable data, verification, and crediting rules so that farmers can sell a ton of avoided methane once—and get recognized for it across buyers, banks, and border regimes.

SOFTBANK BUYS ABB’S ROBOTICS UNIT FOR $5.4B, BETTING ON A NEW WAVE OF FACTORY AUTOMATION

Nurul Majid Humayun’s Death and the Placement of Prisons under the International Red Cross

IEA TRIMS U.S. RENEWABLES OUTLOOK AS FEDERAL POLICIES SHIFT; GLOBAL SOLAR STILL SURGES

GAZA TALKS ENTER DAY THREE IN EGYPT AS MEDIATORS TEST PATH TO FULL CEASE-FIRE

OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY

PRIME DAY, AGAIN: WIRED’S BIG LIST SHOWS HOW TO SHOP SMART AND SKIP THE DUDS

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET TEASES ‘MARTY SUPREME’ AFTER NYFF PREMIERE, KEEPING PLOT UNDER WRAPS

News Title :
Reviving the Rural Economy: $100 Million ADB–Bangladesh Agreement The Journey Begins for Cox’s Bazar’s First Plastic Recycling Plant Why the world’s biggest food company is stepping back Nestlé has withdrawn from a high-profile international alliance to cut methane from dairy supply chains, a move that instantly sharpened debate over how fast and by what methods the sector should decarbonize; the company says it will keep pursuing on-farm emissions cuts through its own programs while reassessing the group’s approach and governance, but the exit deprives the coalition of its most recognizable member and risks slowing peer benchmarking, shared pilot data, and pooled purchasing that can bring down costs for farmers. Methane from cattle is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant, and many governments have leaned on voluntary industry compacts to accelerate adoption of feed additives, manure management, and breeding strategies; critics of Nestlé’s decision warn that a fragmentation of efforts could reduce transparency and make it harder for buyers, lenders, and regulators to compare progress across brands, whereas supporters counter that company-led projects tied to local agronomy and subsidies often deliver faster, measurable gains than broad global charters. The policy backdrop is shifting as well: several markets are moving from pure carrots to a mix of incentives and performance-based conditions on grants and export supports, and that pivot raises stakes for how milk processors document emissions baselines and third-party verification, because the credibility of Scope 3 targets rests on comparable methodologies rather than marketing claims alone. Practically, much of the abatement economics hinge on who pays for early-stage inputs like methane-reducing feed supplements and slurry lids; with farm margins tight, a coordinated model—blending buyer premiums, public cost-shares, and green-finance instruments—is usually needed to avoid penalizing smaller producers, and Nestlé’s departure complicates the coalition’s ability to aggregate demand and negotiate lower unit costs at scale. What changes on the farm, for financiers, and across supply chains For producers, the near-term signal is mixed: one major buyer is still funding on-farm pilots but no longer inside the alliance’s shared roadmap, which could slow knowledge transfer between regions that differ on climate, feed, and herd structure, even as individual Nestlé programs continue to trial seaweed-based additives, nitrification inhibitors, covered lagoons with biogas capture, and pasture rotations to improve enteric and manure outcomes; in parallel, veterinarians and breeders stress that fertility and animal health gains can cut emissions intensity without shrinking output, though activists argue absolute reductions are needed if national targets are to be met. Financiers and insurers will keep pressing for comparable disclosures because the cost of capital increasingly reflects climate-risk metrics: banks baking “sustainability-linked” terms into dairy loans need clear, auditable KPIs, and exporters eyeing tariff-free access to markets with carbon-border rules will face tougher paperwork if standards splinter, which is why industry groups are urging a minimum common MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) framework even when brand strategies differ. For consumers—and for downstream brands in chocolate, infant formula, and ice cream—the implications will show up more in labels and price architecture than in the taste of products: if buyers pay farmers for verified methane abatement while feed and equipment remain pricey, some costs may pass through, but over time biogas revenue, fertilizer substitution, and efficiency gains can offset outlays and stabilize retail pricing. The political risk is that today’s corporate exit becomes tomorrow’s cultural flashpoint, especially in countries where farmer protests have already shaped election cycles; to avoid backlash, climate policy designers are experimenting with “pay for performance” that rewards measured reductions rather than prescribing a single technology path. The bottom line is not that dairy decarbonization stalls, but that governance gets messier: Nestlé’s solo track keeps momentum on pilots yet raises coordination costs for everyone else, and the outcome to watch is whether competing alliances converge on interoperable data, verification, and crediting rules so that farmers can sell a ton of avoided methane once—and get recognized for it across buyers, banks, and border regimes. SOFTBANK BUYS ABB’S ROBOTICS UNIT FOR $5.4B, BETTING ON A NEW WAVE OF FACTORY AUTOMATION Nurul Majid Humayun’s Death and the Placement of Prisons under the International Red Cross IEA TRIMS U.S. RENEWABLES OUTLOOK AS FEDERAL POLICIES SHIFT; GLOBAL SOLAR STILL SURGES GAZA TALKS ENTER DAY THREE IN EGYPT AS MEDIATORS TEST PATH TO FULL CEASE-FIRE OCTOBER PRIME DAY 2025: THE TECH DEALS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY PRIME DAY, AGAIN: WIRED’S BIG LIST SHOWS HOW TO SHOP SMART AND SKIP THE DUDS TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET TEASES ‘MARTY SUPREME’ AFTER NYFF PREMIERE, KEEPING PLOT UNDER WRAPS

icddr,b Study Reveals Poor Toilet Access and Hygiene Conditions in Hospitals in Dhaka

04:09:40 pm, Monday, 1 July 2024

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 10 June 2024:A recent study across 12 government and private hospitals in Dhaka found that 68% of government hospital toilets were functional, with only 33% clean, while in private hospitals, 92% were functional, but only 56% were clean. Conducted by icddr,b scientists in collaboration with partners at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Bangladesh, the study was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Poor toilet access and hygiene pose significant health risks, potentially spreading diseases like cholera and typhoid. Proper sanitation and its accessibility are particularly crucial in hospitals, where disease-causing pathogens are expected to commonly circulate. The study evaluated 2,459 toilets in Dhaka’s healthcare facilities to assess the availability, functionality, and cleanliness of toilets.

High user-to-toilet ratios were observed in outpatient facilities, with one toilet for every 214 users in government hospitals and 94 users in private hospitals, significantly below the recommended standards set by WaterAid. According to their guidelines for the construction of institutional toilets in outpatient facilities, there should be one toilet for every 20–25 patients or carers, up to the first 100 individuals, with an additional toilet for every additional 50 patients or carers.

Additionally, both government and private hospitals failed to meet the criterion of one toilet per six inpatient beds by the Bangladesh national WASH standard and implementation guidelines from 2021. There were 17 users for each toilet in government hospitals and 19 users per toilet in private hospitals. Beyond basic functionality, hygiene, and availability, less than 1% of toilets had facilities for disabled people, and only 3% of toilets had a trash bin for menstrual pad and solid disposal.

The researchers defined toilet functionality according to criteria used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF and assessed toilet cleanliness based on the presence of visible faeces on any surface, strong faecal odour, flies, sputum, insects, rodents, and solid waste.

“The actual sanitation conditions in Dhaka hospitals may be worse than what we found as our study was conducted in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when many hospitals were shifting from mainly treating COVID-19 patients to general medical care. This could have led to reduced patient flow and toilet usage,” said icddr,b’s Associate Scientist and principal investigator of the study Dr Md. Nuhu Amin. Dr Nuhu Amin said directed increase in resources allocated for maintaining clean and working toilets in hospitals is needed, with a particular focus on meeting gendered needs and those of disabled persons.

Globally, there is a lack of studies characterizing toilet conditions and estimating user-to-toilet ratios in large urban hospitals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Ensuring basic sanitation for all is a priority for countries to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The study addresses the research gap in LMICs and provides important data to drive policy changes at the national level to tackle the critical health problem of inadequate sanitation in healthcare facilities in Dhaka.

Editorial : Swadesh Roy

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