Environment has coherent impact on health and livelihood change. Response to environment/climate change at the moment has become inevitable. Environment and climatic change has also obvious affect on water, sanitation and hygiene. As such health, environment and sanitation are interlinked with each other. The ultimate adverse affect causes increased health hazards and poverty in both rural areas in general and particularly in urban slums.

To this effect, VERC has given equal importance to the above mentioned sectors and brought it into a broad cluster to provide equal efforts with its available limited resources. Sidr that hit the coastal districts in November last 2007 caused massive loss to life and properties. VERC has successfully responded to the catastrophy with the support of UNDP.  Addressing the issues in a segmented way will not attain meaningful and sustainable impact in accordance with mission and strategies of the organization. Hence the initiatives/interventions being taken to empower the grass root level people by mobilizing them through institution building and transferring capacity in them so that they can take actions locally to address the service needs. Also they can claim their due shares from the public service delivery agencies. Efforts in addressing health service needs, coping with environmental hazards like- disaster and improving sanitation needs widely being undertaken through the adoption of participatory methods and techniques.