AS if the health problems of this country’s vast majority weren’t bad enough, research continues to provide us with endless proof of how the challenge is growing. Take the issue of contaminated drinking water. True, some reports have noted that access to potable water has improved in the country — thanks largely to the targets set by the MDGs, and now the SDGs. However, the effort has clearly not been enough. Contaminated drinking water is responsible for a range of gastrointestinal illnesses — from diarrhoea and dysentery to hepatitis. Shockingly, even the more easily treated of ailments ie diarrhoea, leads to over 50,000 preventable deaths among children every year, as estimated by Unicef some time ago. Some two-thirds of Pakistani households drink bacterially contaminated or otherwise compromised water, no surprise when we consider that far too many of our natural waterways are choked with filth. Besides, largely unregulated factories and industrial units across the country allow untreated effluent to enter the water courses.

Thinking through the issue requires untangling various strands that successive governments have hardly given priority to. First, there is the pressing problem of just how rampant water contamination is and the numerous forms it takes. Besides bacteria, drinking water may also contain poisons like arsenic. Then little has been done to revamp the water supply infrastructure; old and defective pipes cause sewage and garbage to mix with what is supposed to be potable water. The fecal and other contaminants being consumed are potentially lethal. It is only natural then, that those who can afford it prefer to buy bottled water — even here the testing of samples has shown that some brands are selling water of uncertain quality.

Any exercise in revamping the water sector will have to go hand in hand with educating the public on environmental cleanliness and personal hygiene that can help reduce the number of gastrointestinal deaths and drastically cut medical bills. For example, open defecation — often in waterways — is common and the importance of handwashing is still not recognised. Reversing this trend requires a major effort but it is not impossible to achieve. A good example is neighbouring India where progress towards this goal has been made thanks to a sustained campaign against open defecation — a problem that is closely related to stunting in children. For a cleaner Pakistan, and a population that is less prone to falling ill, the state will have to actively step in. Indeed, the fact that it has practically abdicated its responsibility on this front was noted by the Supreme Court recently when it pulled up the Sindh chief minister for his administration’s failure to provide unpolluted water to the denizens. This is a stunning badge of shame, particularly for a country that lets few opportunities pass to boast of its nuclear status.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2018