Background of the programme

Since 1975 the Netherlands and Bangladesh have an intensive bilateral co-operation program in the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) sector, and till now it remains a priority area of Dutch development collaboration in the country. Since then several projects (co) financed by the Netherlands are increasingly aiming to create positive impact in the sectors of Water, Food security, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Women’s rights and gender equality, and Trade and economic development. Recognising that despite years of pro-poor and pro-gender interventions, looming gender gaps still exist in Bangladesh, in many sectors like education, health, nutrition, employment, and control over income and assets such as land and water, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands (EKN) is aiming for a more comprehensive and coordinated effort in addressing gender concerns throughout their portfolio of projects in Bangladesh. For this reason GWA was approached by EKN, in 2012, to submit a proposal for a 3 year programme to build capacity to mainstream gender in a host of projects currently being (co)financed by them.

As a precursor to writing a project proposal for EKN, GWA held a meeting of their members in November 2012 to identify and discuss current gender-and-water issues in Bangladesh, especially concentrating on the South West coastal belt area, and suggest ways and means to tackle these. These issues, along with an in-depth literature study formed the basis of a draft project proposal for the Gender and Water Programme Bangladesh (GWAPB) submitted to the EKN in early 2013, the final draft of which was approved in July 2013.