Blog by Ikhtiar Khaskhelly, Executive Director of Khairpur Rural Development Organization (KRDO), Sindh Pakistan.
The Country Briefing paper of Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the human right to water, sanitation and hygiene is a detailed document for sector related volunteers to work more efficiently having primary and secondary data and information about the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Sector in Pakistan.
The WASH Sector organisations and volunteers were feeling difficulties about challenges to access data and knowledge about the sector which can be quoted or used in their work and progress. Before this paper, no one has worked on this issue. In 2015, Khairpur Rural Development Organisation (KRDO) and Integrated Regional Support Program (IRSP) felt the need of such a document which would be useful for the sector actor NGOs and Volunteers to work more efficiently in the country. From start to the finalization of this paper, the support and guidance of End Water Poverty (EWP) was maintained with the team and as a result, the briefing paper was successfully completed. This was launched on the website of EWP. This comes under the ‘Keep Your Promises’ campaign of EWP; aimed at holding governments accountable to their commitments and promises on WASH. This is the first example in South Asia to develop the Country Briefing Paper on Right to Water and Sanitation and credit goes to KRDO, IRSP and EWP. This Country Briefing is a useful tool, as it can be referred to and used by the partners of EWP and other stakeholders in Pakistan for getting knowledge, information and understanding about the problem and solutions, and having a united and collective position to government.
The coverage data of drinking water and sanitation shows 91% access to drinking water and 64% to sanitation up to 2015 which are high percentages, but the actual coverage is less than this- the reality on the ground is very different. There is a need for massive research in the sector coverage and other components of water, sanitation and hygiene.
Gaps/ Problems:
1. Exclusion of marginalised and minority groups, women, girls, children, Internally Displaced People (IDPs), older and disabled people in the provision of WASH services at government level.
2. Lack of coordination among the service providers.
3. Lack of involvement of community and CSOs in planning and implementation phases of WASH schemes and services.
4. Unavailability of budget tracking systems at government level.
5. Unavailability of authenticated data on the coverage of drinking water and sanitation.
6. Lack of participation of community/ beneficiaries and CSOs in monitoring and of services at local level.
7. Hygiene and menstrual hygiene is totally ignored in the actions at government level.
Future planning/ action needed: To ensure that poor and marginalised communities across Pakistan are not left behind, civil society led by KRDO and IRSP are calling on the government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to improve the current situation.
Read the original blog post on the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership website to see what civil society is calling for at national and provincial levels to end the water and sanitation crisis.
Download the Keep Your Promises Country Briefing here.
Let us at the End Water Poverty Secretariat know if you want to develop a Keep Your Promises Country Briefing. Send us a request today!