21.7 million people don't have clean water.
21.7 million people don't have clean water.
That's 1 in 10 people.
79 million people don't have a decent toilet.
79 million people don't have a decent toilet.
That's 1 in every 3 people.
Over 19,400 children under 5 die each year from diarrhoea.
Over 19,400 children under 5 die each year from diarrhoea.
Caused by dirty water and poor toilets.
Our work in Pakistan
We’ve been active in Pakistan since 2006, collaborating with local partners to develop long-lasting, disaster-proof and affordable solutions that others can then scale up.
We work with community groups to demonstrate the links between hygiene and health, collaborating with schools and the media to spread these messages as widely as possible.
We support people – especially those who are often overlooked by others – to raise their voices and demand their rights to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. And we work with the government and service providers to deliver them.
Tackling shame in schools
Cultural and religious taboos can shroud menstruation in stigma and misinformation – but school clubs provide girls with the knowledge and confidence they need to thrive, every day of the month.
Without knowledge of how to safely manage their periods, or access to sanitary materials and decent toilets to change them in, girls struggle to stay clean and healthy. Many would rather stay home than go to school – missing days of essential education every month.
We work with schools to build female-friendly toilets, ensure sanitary supplies are available, and equip girls with vital knowledge of how to manage periods safely. School clubs bust dangerous myths and give girls the confidence to come to class, no matter what time of the month.
Meet Iqra, Saba and Ramsha, active members of their school WASH club, and menstruation myth-busters:
Talking about taboos
I tell the women in the village about what I’ve learnt in school about hygiene... Many are shy and don’t want to talk about things like this, but I feel quite confident and think that it’s natural to talk about it, even with elder women.
Iqra, 16
Focusing on the future
Our attendance has improved and we can now focus on our education instead of worrying about managing periods in the school. This means I can chase my academic dreams and eventually become a doctor.
Saba, 16
Busting harmful myths
During sessions at school, I found out about healthy and hygienic ways to manage my period... I started asking them to explain some of the myths which are prevalent in our community.
Ramsha, 16
Transforming water quality
Much of the groundwater across the Muzaffargarh district, southern Punjab, contains high levels of contaminants, making it bitter-tasting and unfit for drinking.
We’re working with communities here to build water filtration systems, improving water quality and piping it to tapstands near people’s homes.
Importantly, the new systems are accessible for everyone – like shopkeeper and father of three Muhammad Asif, who's lived with polio since childhood, making fetching water from far away an impossible task.
“We sit and chat and do more embroidery. I have big dreams.”
Shama, 19, used to spend hours a day fetching dirty water, leaving little time for anything else. But with five new water pumps in her village, installed by our local partner, she’s able to focus on what really matters: her family, her livelihood, and her future.
Responding to COVID-19
We’ve joined forces with other charities, the UN, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as part of the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC): a taskforce dedicated to reducing the spread of COVID-19 through improved hygiene, funded by UK Aid and supported by Unilever.
The latest on our work in Pakistan
Browse articles, research and expert opinion from WASH Matters.