ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved $300 million in funding to improve access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for around 1.5 million people in selected rural districts of Sindh.
The funding will be utilised under the first phase of the Sindh Transformational Accelerated Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Services Project (STAR WASH-1), which forms part of a wider $540 million co-financed programme designed to upgrade rural utility services and tackle major public health issues.
World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Bolormaa Amgaabazar said stunting remained one of Pakistan’s most serious and longstanding human development challenges, with unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation among its major contributing factors.
The World Bank noted that contaminated water and poor sanitation expose young children to repeated diarrhoeal infections, reducing their ability to absorb nutrients and adversely affecting their physical and mental development.
More than 50 per cent of children under five in rural Sindh suffer from stunting, underscoring the importance of improving water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Through STAR WASH-1, approximately 1.5 million residents will benefit from access to safe drinking water, properly managed sanitation facilities and improved hygiene services.
The project will support the construction and rehabilitation of climate-resilient infrastructure, including solar-powered water supply systems, modernised sanitation facilities and wastewater management networks.
It will also fund an integrated social and behavioural change programme to encourage better hygiene practices among households and communities.
In addition to improving infrastructure, the initiative seeks to develop financially viable and professionally operated rural water and sanitation services to ensure their long-term sustainability.
Under the programme, the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), a government-owned, non-profit organisation, is expected to be formalised into a dedicated utility company responsible for rural water, sanitation and hygiene services.
