‘Water, sanitation needed for well-being’

Facilities are necessary to reduce number of diseases and deaths, increase economic benefits and protect environment.


Ppi October 22, 2010

TANDO JAM: Access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and improved hygiene are critical to human development and wellbeing, said Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Budget Research Cell incharge Erum Syed, who is also a researcher on the budgetary issues regarding water and sanitation.

These facilities are necessary to reduce the number of diseases and deaths, increase economic benefits, contribute towards human dignity and protect the environment, said Syed while addressing a seminar on the “Budgetary Priorities of Water and Sanitation in Public Sector Spending in Sindh and Pakistan”. The seminar was organised by the SAU faculty of agricultural and social sciences in collaboration with Water Aid Pakistan.

A recent study on the cost of environmental degradation in Pakistan by the World Bank shows that the annual cost of degradation is equal to six percent of Pakistan’s GDP - more than half of which is due to water and sanitation, said Syed. Mostly poor people are affected by the lack of these facilities, she added.

In response to the targets of Millennium Development Goals, the government of Pakistan had approved the national drinking water policy in 2009 and had also developed guidelines for sanitation, said assistant professor of agricultural economics, Dr Fateh M Marri.

These guidelines need a budgetary commitment at the federal and provincial levels, he said, adding that in the process of post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation, the government should incorporate sanitation and waste management plans at an earlier stage of reconstruction planning.

Faculty of agricultural and social sciences dean Professor Khalid Ahmed Mahar appreciated the interest shown by the faculty members and students regarding this issue and encouraged them to conduct research and find solutions for the government and the civil society organisations to follow.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2010.

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