PESHAWAR, June 7: Pakistan being a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals is supposed to implement its programmes and meet the target set forth at the world summit on sustainable development and in this regard is required to meet the targets of providing pure drinking water to its entire population by 2015.

This could be the reason that in the new national policy, there has been special emphasis on providing free drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities for the urban and rural population as well as maintaining water quality by preventing it from contamination.

These would be good enough to satisfy the delegates of world donor agencies who have been frequently visiting the country to update themselves about the progress being made in the lifestyle of the common man.

But if one tries to compare these well-constructed and composed situations with ground realities, one finds that the surroundings paint a bleak picture showing the average Pakistani either standing in a long queue to fetch water from a community-based water point or lying on a government-run hospital bed suffering from a severe case of diarrhoea or gastroenteritis.

Though the water and sanitation situation is almost the same across the country, yet according to some statistics the province of NWFP faces a major challenge as it has poor access to safe drinking water, lack of adequate sanitation and poor hygiene which results in thousands of deaths each year.

When this correspondent contacted Prof Dr Faizur Rehman, who serves in one of the province’s leading tertiary care hospitals, he said that almost 10 per cent of the patients being brought to the hospital were suffering from water-borne diseases and poor sanitation problems.

He said that water contamination and poor sanitation caused diarrhoea, typhoid, Hepatitis A and gastroenteritis.

He said that the diseases developed through water and poor sanitation could be of three types: mild, moderate and severe.

Mr Rehman said that those suffering from mild problems mostly recovered through self-medication, while proper medicines were prescribed for those suffering from moderate problems, and added that those suffering from a severe form of the disease were usually admitted in hospitals and several medical tests were conducted to ascertain the root cause of their disease.

Meanwhile, a survey carried out by UNICEF in 21,992 schools of the NWFP confirmed that 56 per cent schools were lacking in the availability of pure drinking water and 46 per cent were short in having proper latrine facilities. The survey report included the situation at the household level and said that 96 per cent of the population living in urban areas and only 64 per cent living in rural areas had access to latrine facilities.

So the water and sanitation problems need proper attention of the government on an urgent basis. All water-related acts should be properly reviewed and legal action should be taken against those involved in water contamination, whether directly or indirectly.

There is a dire need to ensure effective reduction in water wastage and theft. Besides, meters should be installed in all those areas where water was being supplied through the local government.

All communities should be informed through the local government system about the importance of hygiene so that they could take an interest in the construction of latrines and play an active role in promoting a healthy lifestyle, which is one of the important components of Millennium Development Goals.