How the SATO Pan Became the Standard for over One Million Refugees

Prior to SATO‘s involvement, the Cox’s Bazar camp faced significant hurdles in providing effective, durable sanitation at scale, which is essential given the protracted nature of the crisis.

• Lack of Affordable, Durable Solutions: There was limited access to affordable, durable materials necessary for sustainable latrine construction.
• Overcrowded, Inadequate Facilities: Sanitation and hygiene conditions remain critical challenges, with limited access to clean water and shared latrines often serving 15 to 27 people each (Shapna et al. 2023). Due to overcrowding and limited space, the refugee population had to share sanitation facilities, resulting in inadequate privacy and a shortage of functional toilets. Some community members practice open defecation, particularly when facilities are not accessible, clean, or safe.
• Health Risks: Poor sanitation contributes to frequent outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and hepatitis E. This is exacerbated by challenging environmental conditions, particularly during monsoon season when latrines are susceptible to flooding, causing overflow of waste and further sanitation hazards.
• Need for Localisation and Collaboration: The Global WASH Cluster’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 emphasised the need for localisation to enhance community ownership and resilience in humanitarian settings. It also mentions that, at all levels, creating cooperation with a diverse range of stakeholders – including local and national private partners – is critical to ensure effective and accountable coordination of humanitarian crises and to foster innovation.
• Reliance on International Procurement: Supply chain constraints, such as reliance on international procurement, often hindered the timely delivery of effective and sustainable WASH services.

The SATO Pan was first introduced in Bangladesh in 2012, scaling nationally to reach millions of people today. This groundwork provided the operational model for the Cox’s Bazar sanitation landscape.

The deployment of the SATO Pan within the camps was achieved through a layered strategy focusing on partnership and localisation:

• Seeding Partnership: In 2018, SATO supplied 5,000 SATO Pans to UNHCR for initial installation across the camps by implementing partners such as Oxfam and BRAC.
• Localisation of Supply Chain: SATO expanded its supply chain network by partnering with RFL (the local manufacturer) and local distributors and retailers. RFL played a critical role by supporting the delivery of products into hard-to-reach areas and remote locations within Cox’s Bazar, including both the refugee camps and the surrounding host communities.
• Demand Creation & Training: While iDE does not operate inside the refugee camps, they have made a significant contribution through demand creation within the host community and adjacent Latrine Producer (LP) centres outside of the camp areas. These development partner organisations implemented market-based programmes that influenced a notable increase in sales and provided essential local supply chain training.

• Market-Based Procurement: Following initial success, WASH organisations transitioned to procuring SATO products directly from these local markets for use in the camps, ensuring a continued supply while supporting the local economy.

This Cox’s Bazar case study demonstrates how the private sector can establish a local, sustainable supply chain model that accelerates large-scale improvements in sanitation and hygiene for all communities — including refugees and internally displaced people.

This success was driven by several key factors:

• Appropriateness and Desirability: SATO products are context-appropriate in Bangladesh and regionally, offering desirable, dignifying WASH solutions for development and humanitarian settings.
• Localisation and Economic Impact: The localisation of manufacturing in Bangladesh improved the local community economy. The robust distribution network supported by RFL ensured that even the most remote locations remained accessible.
• Affordability and Accessibility: SATO products were made available in the local market at an affordable price due to a well-built supply chain, distribution network, and well-trained retailers and masons.
• Strong Collaboration: Partnerships with UNHCR, UNICEF, and other humanitarian actors were vital for reaching displaced populations. Simultaneously, collaboration with development organisations like iDE—focussed on market-based programmes in the host community and adjacent LP centres—was key to driving regional demand and strengthening the overall supply chain, which indirectly supported the camp response.
• Effective Coordination: Well-managed WASH cluster coordination within the Cox’s Bazar camps enabled unified agreement to adopt the SATO Pan as the official standard component in latrine designs.