The Pakistani Ministry of Environment is confident that it will achieve the targets set for the 2008 International Year of Sanitation. With most prevailing diseases being caused by poor hygiene and sanitation practices, reaching the government's targets is crucial.

The targets include finalising provincial sanitation strategies and action plans, disseminating hygiene messages with a focus on handwashing, constructing and promoting the use of latrines, and providing safe drinking water to at least 20% of the country's population. Other objectives are to provide improved sanitation facilities for at least 700,000 households and finalise the National Drinking Water Policy.

Some progress has already been made, with Balochistan provincial government already approving its sanitation policy and strategy. Major information campaigns have been launched in cooperation with UNICEF and other partners. Latrine construction is being promoted by scaling up community-led total sanitation efforts throughout the country. For drinking water, the ministry has already drawn up a draft national policy and quality standards.

The Environment Secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari took advantage of Global Handwashing Day to drive home the message that good hygiene and sanitation are crucial in saving lives. He said that diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis could be prevented by handwashing with soap and other good hygiene practices.

Related news:

• Pakistan, NWFP: current status of water and sanitation-related MDGs, Source South Asia, 28 Oct 2008;
• Water supply and sanitation in Pakistan, Source South Asia, 18 Aug 2008

Web site:Ministry of Environment; Global Handwashing Day

Source: APP, 18 Oct 2008; Khalid Aziz, The Nation, 15 Oct 2008

Tags: hygiene promotion, information and communication, on-site sanitation, policies & legislation, south asia, water supply, water-related diseases