The overall purpose of the project is to ensure the restoration of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in communities and at the institutional level. The project aimed to benefitmore than 210,000 people across two districts in Sindh (Kashmore and Jacobabad). This includes elderly people and those with disabilities. Additionally, the project seeks to enhance awareness among women, men, and girls on protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change, climate-resilient WASH facilities, WASH-related diseases, and mitigating the risks of gender-based violence for vulnerable women and girls within WASH programming. It also aims to facilitate safe referrals for survivors to access appropriate care from specialists available in their communities.
Furthermore, Pakistan is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, ranked 24 out of 191 countries in the 2022 INFORM Risk Index. Pakistan's extreme vulnerability is linked to both its propensity for natural hazards and its high levels of socio-economic marginalization. The severe effects of climate change have left Pakistan facing an almost continuous cycle of natural disasters, ranging from extreme flooding to drought, earthquakes, and heatwaves—despite being responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Remote, rural communities—particularly in Sindh Province—have been forced to become accustomed to annual cycles of drought and flooding, systematically eroding their resilience due to the continuous onslaught of climate shocks.
In response to these ongoing challenges, the project was extended to include the enhancement of awareness among women, men, and girls on PSEA, DRR, climate change, climate-resilient WASH facilities, WASH-related diseases, and mitigating risks of gender-based violence for vulnerable women and girls. This extension aims to ensure the continuity of lifesaving support and address the persistent challenges faced by the community.