ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, on Tuesday said that safe drinking water is not a privilege; it is a basic human right.
Six months after catastrophic floods hit major swathes of Pakistan, more than 10 million people, including children, living in flood-affected areas remain deprived of clean drinking water, leaving thousands of families with no alternative but to drink and use potentially contaminated water.
Even ahead of the devastating floods, despite the country’s drinking water supply system covering 92 percent of the population, less than 36 percent of the water was considered safe for drinking. The floods damaged a major part of the water systems in affected areas, compelling more than 5.4 million people, including 2.5 million children, to rely solely on disease-ridden water from ponds and wells.
UNICEF concerns about supply of safe water
Country representative UNICEF said, “Yet, every day, millions of boys and girls in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable waterborne diseases and the consequential malnutrition. We require the continued support of the donors to provide safe water, build toilets and deliver significant sanitation services to these children and families who require them the most.”
The prolonged dearth of safe drinking water and toilets and the continued proximity of vulnerable families to bodies of stagnant water are the major cause of widespread outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, malaria and dengue. At the same time, open defecation has enhanced by more than 14 percent in flood-affected areas.
Poor sanitation and unsafe water are key underlying causes of malnutrition. The related diseases, such as diarrhea, prevent children from getting the vital nutrients they require. Moreover, malnourished children are more vulnerable to waterborne diseases due to weakened immune systems, which perpetuates a vicious cycle of malnutrition and infection.
Unfortunately, a third of all child deaths globally are attributable to malnutrition, and half of all undernutrition cases are connected to infections caused by a lack of access to clean and safe water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene. In Pakistan, malnutrition is connected with half of all child deaths. In flood-affected areas, over 1.5 million girls and boys are already severely malnourished, and the numbers will only increase without proper sanitation and safe water.
