Department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development

As part of the SHA backstopping mandate, SESP supported the planning and design of a faecal sludge field laboratory for the district of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The laboratory, operated by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), is now fully functional and capable of analysing liquid effluent from faecal sludge treatment plants across the district. Equipped to process around 1,000 samples annually, each testing more than 10 parameters, the laboratory is a key asset for improving sanitation services in the region. Capacity-building efforts, including training by Eawag, SHA and external experts, ensured that DPHE’s laboratory staff remained equipped with the necessary skills.

Initially developed by the Austrian Red Cross and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), with support from Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), the faecal sludge field laboratory has been pivotal in advancing evidence-based approaches and accountability in humanitarian faecal sludge management.

By enabling the assessment of treatment performance across 25 parameters at all stages of the treatment process, the lab provides crucial insights into both influent and effluent characteristics. Eawag-Sandec, through its MEWS and SESP research groups, continues to refine and enhance the laboratory in collaboration with the SHA, ensuring its role in improving sanitation outcomes in humanitarian settings. The FSFL is now deployed in several countries.