Isshawripur Union in Satkhira gets officially recognized as ‘Open Defecation Free Union’

14 January, 2021

One more milestone has been fulfilled on the way to achieve the desired positive public health impact from zero open defecation, with the inclusion of Isshawripur Union as an Open Defecation Free (ODF) union.

Syamnagar Upazilla (under Satkhira district) WatSan Committee declared Isshwaripur union as ‘Open Defecation Free Union’ on 12 January, 2021 under ASWA-II (CATS-II) project. The Upazilla Chairman, Upazilla Vice-Chairman, other distinguished guests including Union Parishad Chairman, CARE’s ASWA-II Project Manager were present in the event.

The news was covered in one of the leading TV news channel and was uploaded a video about this update which can be viewed in this link: https://www.facebook.com/100010926153549/posts/1285483945159132/?

Some key achievements of the project in the Isswaripur Union up till now are -

• Started its work from March 2019.


• Before Union level ODF declaration began, all the 46 communities of Isswaripur Union sequentially declared themselves as ‘ODF’.


• Starting from project inception to Union ODF declaration, a total of 2,443 households upgraded into ‘hygienic latrine’ with hand-washing facilities. They either did not have any latrine facility or had been using unhygienic latrines before this intervention.


• A total of 25,253 population of Isswaripur Union are now living under ‘ODF environment’.


• A total of 92 natural leaders worked hard to make this remarkable achievement possible.


• 3 sanitation entrepreneurs have been developed and trained under the project’s initiative.

A total of 9 Unions (out of 19) have been successfully declared as Open Defecation Free Unions up till now.

Funded by UNICEF, ASWA-II (CATS-II) is a project jointly being executed by Government of Bangladesh and CARE Bangladesh. The overall objective of this project is to achieve the desired positive public health impact from zero open defecation, use of improved sanitation facilities, safe hygiene behavior and ensuring safety sustainability of safe water through arsenic-safe union and water safety communities’ declaration.