D6 - Access to Water and Sanitation in a Post-COVID Pakistan
- Water and sanitation should be recognized as a fundamental right under the Constitution of Pakistan in addition to addressing institutional, legal and policy gaps in service provision.
- There is a dire need for increasing financial allocations for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services if Pakistan wants to achieve the set targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation.
- A five-fold increase is required in Government funding to the WASH sector – from federal and provincial governments – with a strong focus on equity and sustainability. This five-fold increase in annual spending in the WASH sector should address the rapid decline of water resources, including groundwater, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the Indus delta.
- Coordination between institutions working in this domain requires improvement as well civil society engagement in facilitating governmental initiatives in meeting the requirements of SDG 6.
- The international community must support Pakistan in new ways, recognising that tackling COVID-19 and transitioning to a net-zero-carbon future are vital global public goods that justify substantial increases in global financial support. This should involve actual cancellation of debt and increased aid and climate finance in grant form from Pakistan’s bilateral and multilateral cooperating partners.
- The Government should look to catalyse the contribution of private finance: attracting increased levels of remittances, philanthropic funds, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. It should also consider setting up an innovation fund dedicated to attracting private finance to address the multiple needs of the water resources and WASH sectors.
- There is an essential need to improve data availability in the WASH sector.
- There should be a sustained effort to improve the performance of the water and sanitation sector on several levels: institutional strengthening at national, provincial and local level to underpin the decentralisation process; better public financial management to tackle financial absorption constraints; improved cost recovery by Water And Sanitation Agencies (WASAs), local governments and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), through collection of tariffs and addressing wastage and leaks; strengthened regulation of groundwater abstraction and pollution of water resources; and improved dialogue mechanisms between state and non-state actors.
- Greater engagement of all the stakeholders is required at the grassroots level to carry out tree plantation, organic farming and wastewater disposal in a sustainable way.
- Women must be involved in addressing issues related to water management.
- There is a need for the government to connect communities with public authorities to highlight the issues on ground and formulate cohesive mechanisms for WASH.
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should spread awareness related to WASH through media to educate the public about water-related issues.
