The World Bank’s Executive Directors have authorised $442 million in funding to help Pakistan expand access to water and sanitation services in Punjab.
According to the World Bank, the Punjab Rural Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PRSWSSP) would help enhance water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services in rural settlements, enabling access to drinking water and safe wastewater management.
“The PRSWSSP will assist over 6 million rural inhabitants in Punjab’s poorest districts in reducing child stunting and addressing areas at risk of drought and water scarcity,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “The World Bank is dedicated to assisting the government in enhancing the long-term management of water resources. This project will finance investments in these districts that will promote climate resilience, such as flood protection, rainfall harvesting, and water conservation.”
The initiative will assist 2,000 villages and over six million people in rural areas, with 50 percent of districts coming from south Punjab and 25 percent each from central and north Punjab. It will also provide training for village councils and community caretakers, who will share operational and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, and customer service responsibilities.
“The initiative is projected to assist rural populations significantly. It would assist enhance health outcomes by lowering water-borne infections and ensuring service quality and customer care through a financially viable public corporation, according to Farhan Sami, the project’s Task Team Leader.
The project was inspired by a 2018 flagship report, ‘When Water Becomes a Hazard: A Diagnostic Report on The State of Water Supply, Sanitation, and Poverty in Pakistan and Its Impact on Child Stunting,’ which looked at the relationship between water and sanitation services and child stunting in Pakistan.
