PESHAWAR: The health department has directed health centres across the provinces to ensure the provision of clean and chlorinated water to visitors and staff members to protect them from diseases.

It said the cleaning and chlorination of water sources should be carried out twice a year as part of its standard operating procedures.

A letter issued to the director general (health services), district health officers and medical superintendents of hospitals on Saturday stated that the cleaning of water tanks and wells should be carried out in the first week of January and July every year.

It said the chlorination of water should take place in line with the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.

Says chlorination should be carried out twice a year

The letter said for the current year, the exercise should begin Jan 15 and last until Jan 22.

According to it, the DG (health) will enlist all health centres with their sources of water and the relevant DHO, MS and heads of the institutions will certify by Jan 8 and July 8 respectively every year that they’ve carried out the exercise.

The health department’s independent monitoring unit has been tasked with checking if the activity has taken place.

The same directives are also meant for the heads of medical colleges, nursing and paramedical and public health schools, residential colonies, hostels and other facilities overseen by the health department to ensure the provision of clean water to students, inhabitants and staff members.

The DG (health) has been asked to collaborate with the Environmental Protection Agency or PCSIR to analyse water quality for which budgetary allocations be made from the respective facility or institution.

The DHOs and MS’s will send water samples bimonthly to the accredited institutions to test the quality of water provided to the people in facilities under their jurisdiction.

An additional DG will monitor the situation and update the health department within four days of the schedule of the activities regarding the implementation of the directives, said the two-page letter issued by the health secretary.

The letter said it would be responsibility of the DG health to ensure that the source of water supply to the institutions and hospitals are checked and make it sure that the people get clean water, for drinking as well as other purposes.

The public health education department will check the quality of water in the 90 days after its cleaning and this should be a regular feature of each calendar year, it added.

The letter said the health secretary has already instructed to put in place water filtration, preferably solar-powered, in all health facilities so that the availability of uninterrupted supply of clean water is ensured.

In this connection, the DG (health) has been directed to contact the Unicef or any other organisations and submit a proposal within the next fortnight so that a comprehensive programme is devised.

The letter said following proposals, the health department had planned to devise a programme for financial arrangements to bring the exercise regularly.

It added that the department also weighed options to include chlorination and cleaning of water as a regular programme in the annual development programme for the financial year 2019-20.

The department will take review the status of implementation on the directives on Jan 25, the letter said.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2018