‘21m lack access to clean water in Pakistan’

LAHORE: Pakistan is among the top 10 countries with the greatest number of people living without access to safe water while 21 million people lack access to clean water close to home.

This fact has been presented to members of Punjab Assembly during the briefing session. According to a report compiled by an NGO, 21 million people lack access to clean water close to home; 90 percent of drinking water is extracted from the ground; four out of 10 schools have no drinking water; 79 million people lack a decent toilet; 11.5 percent of people defecate in the open. Only 8 percent of wastewater is treated, the rest is released into rivers and drains untreated.

Besides, 46% of the population does not have a hand wash facility at home with soap and water, 23% of households have a garbage collection system, 57% of urban households have a garbage collection system and 6% of rural households have a garbage collection system. Improved water sources reduce diarrhea morbidity by 21%, and the simple act of washing hands at critical times can reduce the number of diarrhea cases by 35%; 19,500 children under five die each year from related diarrheal diseases. Moreover, 50% of malnutrition is associated with repeated diarrhea or intestinal worm infections as a direct result of inadequate wash; 43% reduction in school absenteeism due to better health by hand washing with soap and 45% of children under five are stunted.

The NGO had a briefing with members of Punjab Assembly on Right to Water & Sanitation. The briefing was initiated with the welcome of the participants and preceded with the introduction by Hafsa Mehmood (Programme Officer NGO). Shahnawaz Khan gave a brief introduction of the project and objectives of this briefing session. During the session, all political parties expressed their commitment that they would work collaboratively to overcome the water scarcity and improve the sanitation by acting upon the agenda of Sustainable Development Goals # 6 (SDG). They promised that Punjab Water Policy would be approved as soon as possible by the Punjab Assembly and its implementation should be ensured. Inaytullah Luk guided parliamentarians via presentation.