Nominees of the deceased members under “Shasthya Nirapotta Scheme (SNS)” at Chattogram have recently been brought under death claim settlement process – a much needed initiative supported by WaterAid. Each of the affected families, therefore, received a cheque worth BDT 30 thousand at the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) office.
The three deceased waste and sanitation workers are – Shapan Nath, Dilla Das and Rita Das. Spouses of the three collected the cheques at the event from Afroza Kalam, hon’ble Acting Mayor of CCC. Abdullah Al Omar, City Planner, CCC, and other high officials from CCC also attended the programme. WaterAid’s Technical Partner Waadaa Incure and Chartered Life Insurance representatives graced the programme.
The Shasthya Nirapotta Scheme (SNS) (carrying the meaning of health protection) was launched in August, 2022 under the project WASH4Urban poor supported by Sweden Embassy, with the objective to embed a safety-net for waste and sanitation workers through a minimum annual premium of only BDT 199. It commenced with over 6,000 waste and sanitation workers and their family members in partnerships with Waadaa Insure as the Technical Partner and Chartered Life Insurance Company as the Insurer and active participation of local authorities as well as local government representatives. The subscribers of the SNS scheme are currently eligible for health discounts from 250 clinics and diagnostics centers across Bangladesh apart from the insurance claim in the event of death of the primary cardholder
Waste and sanitation workers in Bangladesh, suffering from poverty and tackling various social and religious taboos constantly, are mostly forgotten and ignored when it comes to social development plannings. Despite being an essential part of the total sanitation value chain of the society, traditional social support systems barely provide enough in regards of their wellbeing. The constant threat of infection, injury and even death is an ingrained attribute of their nature of work. There is no subsidized healthcare support curated for their wellbeing, and there hardly exist any means to economically support their families in the event of long-term injury or death.
WaterAid pioneered the Shasthya Nirapotta Scheme (SNS) to ease the lives of waste and sanitation workers and bring them under a sustainable health and social security framework through a dedicated and risk-free scheme. DSK, Sajida Foundation, and Nobolok with collaboration of Waadaa Insurer are WaterAid’s partners for the initiative currently in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna City Corporations.
The Mayor and other CCC officials praised the integrity of the program, expressing gratitude to WaterAid and all its partners for providing timely assistance to the vulnerable families. Kanchon Das, husband of late Rita Das and a beneficiary of SNS, also thanked WaterAid for the support. “My wife’s earnings would directly go to backing the education for our children. Since she passed away, I have been under a lot of stress to support the family and fulfill every household need. The money I received today comes as a big help to minimize my suffering. Thanks to WaterAid’s generous scheme for us”.
Hossain I. Adib, Director of Programme at WaterAid, said, “WaterAid aims to uplift the working conditions of sanitation workers in partnership with city corporations, municipalities and local authorities, this scheme is part of our effort to ensure that all sanitation workers get access to affordable and quality health care services and live a dignified safe life. There is no mechanism which protects these vital workforces working in such perilous conditions, the scheme is a small step in supporting them and their families in times of crisis.”
