It is hard to imagine that even today access to basic sanitation and clean water remains a luxury for a large number of people all over the world. Governments all over the world accept that improvement in sanitary conditions has a positive impact on public health, poverty eradication, and social and economic development. Although they have reaffirmed their commitment to overcome this menace time and again, their progress remains alarmingly slow and leaves a lot to be desired.
The proportion of people without access to adequate sanitation remains shockingly high, especially in the developing countries. The Asian countries of Pakistan, India, China and Indonesia are home to about 1.7 billion people lacking basic sanitation facilities.
A recent report by UNICEF points out that 48 million Pakistanis defecate in the open. The problem remains most acute in the rural areas, comprising about 65 percent of the country’s total population. Another study by WaterAid, an international aid agency, highlights that Pakistan is lagging severely behind in achieving its sanitation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although the country had targeted to halve the number of people lacking sanitation services by 2025, it is missing the mark by around 10 years. Neighboring India is way off the mark as well, with about 600 million people lacking basic sanitation facilities.
Poor sanitation facilities and inaccessibility to clean drinking water result in diarrhea, malnutrition and other preventable diseases. These diseases cause an estimated 320 child deaths every day in Pakistan, accounting for about 60 percent of child deaths. The spread of illness not only has devastating consequences for child mortality, but also prevents them from attending school. Lack of education creates even greater socioeconomic disparity in the society and feeds the vicious cycle of poverty. Unsafe water and poor sanitary conditions also lead to an economic loss of around 3.9 percent of Pakistan’s GDP through lost productivity. Even though statistics establish a clear link between sanitation and health, the uneven and lethargic response to this crisis depicts a story of political insensitivities, misplaced priorities, cultural taboos and poor awareness among people.
It is encouraging to note that the government has now devised a holistic Pakistan Approach to Total Sanitation (PATS) to promote safe water and sanitation services in the country. In another smart move, Pakistan’s provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhawa government has rebranded the polio vaccination campaign under a broader health program. However, the administration must prioritize its efforts in dealing with the health crisis by allocating greater financial resources to develop new safe water and sanitation facilities. More importantly, these facilities should reach out to the rural areas to target the poor and marginalized sections of the society.
It must establish stronger partnerships with the communities and donors so that progress of initiatives and effectiveness of the investments are rigorously monitored. Specifically tailored education programs must be devised to encourage behavioral change in people through better awareness about sanitation and hygiene. Sanitation projects are most likely to fail if they do not include the communities and try to understand the cultural aspects of the problem. Further, collaboration with academia may help to undertake wider research and learn from experience to promote innovation in this field. The way Pakistan’s government responds to the sanitation challenge could very well decide the socioeconomic future of the country.
