Qatar Charity (QC) implemented various water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects in Pakistan’s Sindh province this year, benefiting 27,550 people in the province.
The implementation of the WASH projects comes as part of Qatar Charity’s continued efforts to contribute to addressing the water problem and providing safe drinking water to the vulnerable in the province.
Qatar Charity has equally installed 140 hand pumps in the province’s two districts, which are Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin, to provide 13,500 beneficiaries with safe drinking water. It also constructed 46 sanitation facilities along with an ablution area in both districts where nearly 7,000 individuals benefit from these interventions, in addition to installing 23 solar water pumps for the benefit of 7,150 individuals in these two districts and the Umarkot district.
“Qatar Charity is working at the grass-root level to meet the basic needs of the community, school and health facilities,” said Mr. Hafeez Ahmed Siyal, Deputy Commissioner Badin, praising Qatar Charity’s efforts in implementing WASH and livelihood projects. He also indicated that the governmental bodies will fully cooperate with Qatar Charity to facilitate the implementation of its various projects.
Mr. Abdul Gaffar Khoso Deputy Director Social Welfare Department Badin applauded Qatar Charity for playing a vital role in providing safe and clean drinking for the poorest community in the Sindh province.
Since the 2010-2011 flood emergency in the Sindh Province, Qatar Charity has actively been implementing many projects such as emergency, early recovery, reconstruction, WASH and livelihood projects. Qatar Charity has also expanded its operations interventions in districts of Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin inhabited by extreme vulnerable because of their poor economic condition, less livelihood opportunities, unavailability of safe drinking water, poor infrastructure. Due to the unavailability of safe drinking water, these people face malnutrition, high infant mortality rate.
It is worth mentioning that although water is the basic necessity of life, a major chunk of the country’s population is derived from clean drinking water. The reports of WHO revealed that the water supplied to the citizens of many parts of the country is contaminated and not fit for human consumption. According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 20 to 40 % of beds are occupied in the hospitals of Pakistan by patients suffering from water-related diseases.
Qatar Charity, through its Pakistan office, signed two contracts with UNICEF in April to implement two water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects for the benefit of nearly one million people in the provinces of Punjab and Baluchistan over the period of two years. Both WASH projects are being implemented at a cost of QR 12 million.
