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October 22, 2025

To ADB Colleagues

After decades of leadership in the sanitation sector, Roshan shares his retirement announcement alongside reflections on the transformative partnership between the Gates Foundation and ADB.

Dear ADB Colleagues,


After thirteen immensely rewarding years at the Gates Foundation—and nearly twenty-five years before that in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector—it’s time for me to begin a new chapter. I’ll be retiring at the end of this year and returning to Nepal to spend more time with my family, especially my elderly mother.


This was not an easy decision. My journey in this sector has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my life. Together, we’ve witnessed an incredible transformation—from when sanitation mostly meant “building toilets” to today, when we talk about inclusive, sustainable, and safely managed sanitation for all with governments investing, the private sector expanding, and development banks like ADB committing billions to inclusive sanitation.


I’m deeply proud that our partnership between ADB and the Gates Foundation has been a catalyst for this change. It’s been over 12 years since Amy Leung and Jingmin Huang first visited Seattle to explore collaboration. Together with Lu Shen, we developed the initial proposal and a shared vision for scaling up investments in non-sewered sanitation (NSS) and fecal sludge management (FSM).


When we formalized our partnership in 2013, ADB’s sanitation-related investments stood at $12 million, with $3.8 million for non-sewered sanitation (NSS). We set ambitious targets (those days 😊)—to raise these to $35 million and $28.7 million by 2017—with a $15 million Foundation grant (here is the link of the proposal that approved in 2013). What followed exceeded all expectations: ADB’s investments have now surpassed $3 billion for CWIS and $718 million for NSS/FSM (based on this report). This remarkable growth reflects not only financial commitment but also the leadership, innovation, and passion of so many of you across ADB.


Our collaboration has always been more than a funding relationship—it has been a true partnership built on shared values, mutual respect, and a common vision for inclusive sanitation. I’m sincerely grateful to the many champions who have shaped this journey:

Early Champions (2013–2017)

  • Amy Leung, Chair, Water Sector Committee
  • Gil-Hong Kim, WFPF-SFPTF Facility Manager
  • Lu Shen and Jingmin Huang, for co-designing and executing the first proposal
  • Vivian Wooldridge-Castro, who initiated regional knowledge Hub (K-Hub) programs in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal with NIUA, India
  • Norio Saito, who supported national sanitation planning for Bangladesh – that paved the way for the large investment for sanitation in Bangladesh and arranged study visits for sector actors to AIT for their learning
  • Ron Slangen, Manoj Sharma, Neeta Pokhrel, Michael White, Laxmi Sharma, Elma Morsheda, Tuul Badarch, for pioneering the SFPTF-funded projects for CWIS and NSS across the region


Continued Leadership (2017–Present)

  • Vijay Padmanabhan, for regular guidance and helping establish SFPTF-funded staff positions and paving the way for Christian Walder’s engagement that supported to shape CWIS program in ADB investment
  • Tom Panella and later Neeta Pokhrel, for leading the Water Sector Group with vision and dedication
  • Allison Woodruff, for outstanding coordination of WFPF operations
  • Satoshi Ishii, as Chair of the WFPF Working Group, supported by Jeetendra Kumar
  • Norio Saito, for his inspiring leadership as Senior Director

The SFPTF Secretariat:


Fatima Bautista, Ellen Pascua, Anna Romelyn Almario, Robert Lacson, and Christopher Moster—thank you for your professionalism, responsiveness, and friendship throughout our collaboration.

I’m especially proud that our work together has helped establish partnerships with institutions like the Global Water and Sanitation Center at AIT, the Regional Capacity Platform at NIUA and CWAS in India, ITN-BUET in Bangladesh, and the Global Sanitation Graduate School. These platforms are now empowering the next generation of sanitation professionals across Asia and Africa, and ADB can leverage their expertise for the quality design and execution of the programs that ADB has developed.

Although I’ll be stepping away from my formal role, my commitment to this mission remains strong. From Kathmandu, I plan to stay engaged as a mentor and advisor—continuing to support innovation, policy, and capacity development in our shared pursuit of safely managed sanitation for all.

To all my colleagues and friends at ADB—thank you for your trust, collaboration, and friendship. It has been an honor to learn, innovate, and make a lasting impact together. I will remain connected and look forward to crossing paths again in the years ahead.

You are fortunate to have a WSH leader like Sakshi Gudwani based in India who will manage ongoing grant working closely with Satoshi and Jeetendra. Doulaye Kone and Najib Bateganya will be in touch with you to discuss on continued collaboration.

Thank you once again for your friendship, partnership, and inspiration. I hope to see some of you at the IWA Development Congress in Bangkok. Please feel free to contact me at rrshrestha712@gmail.com starting January 1, 2026.