Towards an Arsenic Safe Environment in Bangladesh - Unicef

INTRODUCTIONIt was thought that Bangladesh had succeeded in offering safe drinkingwater to the vast majority of its population through tube wells with handpumps by the early 1990s. However, during the same decade this success waschallenged by the discovery of widespread arsenic contamination exceedingthe Bangladesh drinking water standard of 50 microgram per liter. Severalscreening campaigns have determined the extent and severity of arseniccontamination. Tens of millions of people were at risk, reducing the safewater coverage of Bangladesh from nearly universal to about 80%. TheGovernment of Bangladesh together with stakeholders have undertaken arange of arsenic mitigation strategies guided by the National Policy forArsenic Mitigation issued in 2004, and the Implementation Plan for ArsenicMitigation. Both the public and the private sectors have made significantprogress towards mitigation.The Government ofBangladesh electedon January 6, 2009committed in itselection manifestothat the arsenicproblem will betackled andmeasures will betaken to ensurethe supply of safedrinking water forall by 2011.However as of 2009 this problem is far from solved, jeopardizing theprogress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Despitemassive efforts to provide safe water supplies in arsenic-affected areas, awater quality survey in 2009 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics andUNICEF has found that 12.6% of drinking water samples collected from13,423 households around the country do not meet the Bangladesh drinkingwater standard for arsenic (Figure 1). This is equivalent to approximately 20million people still being exposed to excessive quantities of arsenic. Recentknowledge of the health threats posed by arsenic, as well as evidence ofarsenic penetration into the food chain make urgent action absolutelyessential. In recognition of the continuing challenge posed by arsenic, thepresent Government of Bangladesh committed in its election manifesto that“the arsenic problem will be tackled and measures will be taken to supplydrinking water for all by 2011.” This document stresses the urgency of thesituation and recommends key actions to be taken to achieve this goal.