Hygiene
It is no surprise that Pakistan was ranked the 7th worst country in terms of access to sanitation in 2017. Some of the country’s biggest challenges such as high infant mortality rates, stunted growth, poor literacy rates, and high unemployment, are directly proportional to the lack of sanitary conditions in the country. DAWN News published an article written by Xari Jalil which stated, “A report by WaterAid says 79 million people lack a decent toilet, while 37% have no system for wastewater disposal, which leads to spread of diseases due to contamination of water and contact with human waste. Diseases spread by waste water and lack of sanitation increase the financial burden on families. This disadvantages the poorest. There is already a vast disparity in the country in terms of rural-urban access to basic sanitation facilities. If not addressed urgently, this will continue to keep many below the poverty line.”
Every year, the number of children, under the age of 10, who die due to poor sanitary conditions is on the rise per UNICEF’s report. In 2017, the number was 110,000 – today, the number is much higher (and is continuing to rise). Keeping these numbers in mind, we launched a hygiene awareness campaign to help prevent the spread of sanity based diseases amongst children.
In 2019, we are dealing with the recent outbreak of a drug resistant typhoid called 'XDR'. This bug has mainly affected the inhabitants of Sindh. Out of the 5200+ cases reported in the country, 5000 have been residents of Sindh. With Sindh's population being 47.89 million we needed to spread awareness about this bug. And fast. We prepared hygiene boxes to distribute amongst those that are most prone to such cases-infants and young children. Prevention is key!
March 2019
Chashma Goth,
Sharafi Goth Road, Ibrahim Hyderi, Karachi
