SafePani

Improving water security for 100 million people by 2030

‘SafePani’ is a professional water service delivery model for schools and healthcare facilities in rural Bangladesh. It aims to address gaps in safety and reliability of drinking water services to advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 6.1. The SafePani model was initiated as part of a programme collaboration between UNICEF-Bangladesh and the REACH programme, including the University of Oxford, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

The model was piloted in in 2021-2023 in 204 schools and healthcare facilities in eight selected unions (Tier-4 administrative boundary) of Khulna district in Bangladesh’s southwestern coastal area. Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the REACH Programme contracted Bangladeshi non-profit organisation – HYSAWA – as the service provider for the pilot phase. The Government of Bangladesh actively supported the SafePani model, with the Local Government Division (LGD) chairing the National Steering Committee and the Deputy Commissioner of Khulna chairing the District Working Group during the pilot phase.

More about SafePani on the University of Oxford website

A school signed up to the SafePani service / Image credit: Lutfor Rahman

HYSAWA is the implementing partner on the SafePani programme. They provide professional services to help ensure drinking water systems are fully functional and provide drinking water free from faecal (bacteria) contamination / Image credit: HYSAWA

In 2025, the LGD’s Policy Support Branch (PSB) and Uptime Catalyst Facility (UCF) signed a results-based contract with HYSAWA to scale up the SafePani model to 1174 schools and healthcare facilities across Khulna district for six years till 2030. With 50% co-funding from the government and 50% from UCF, this will benefit around 215,000 pupils and 2,400 monthly outpatients at a cost of less than USD 1 per person per year.

SafePani

Delivering safe drinking water in Bangladesh