ISLAMABAD, Mar 30 (APP): Chairman Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, while underscoring the importance of water in the light of Quran and Sunnah, on Thursday said that globally 2.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water and 4.5 billion people have no adequate facility for safely managed sanitation services.
Addressing an event organized in connection with the World Water Day by PCRWR in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, WaterAid, IWMI, Muslim Aid, Capital Development Authority (CDA) and ICIMOD here Thursday, he said that the lack of access to safe drinking water made people more vulnerable to waterborne diseases. A collective effort is required to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), he said.
In his keynote speech, Dr. Mohsin Hafeez, Country Representative, IWMI highlighted that water security was a big issue and had been further accelerated due to extreme events of climate change. Sustainable and equitable access to water to the deprived community was still a big challenge, he remarked.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Inoussa Kabore, UNICEF Deputy Representative, described that water was indispensable for all living beings. Access to safe WASH facilities is the basic right of all human beings, he said.
He said the water demand has increased due to the rapid increase in population. Climate change has further threatened the situation, he said and added, the recent devastating floods posed a negative impact on the communities and lag behind the country in achieving the targets of WASH and we need additional accelerated efforts to achieve the target.
Dr. Youssef Filali-Meknassi, Country Director, UNESCO said that the purpose of World Water Day was to create awareness on water-related issues.
This year’s theme was very crucial and globally we are lagging behind in providing safe and clean drinking water to deprived communities. Strong collaborative and holistic efforts were inevitable. Partnerships and coordination among the stakeholders should be encouraged to counter the issues, he concluded.
During a panel discussion, water experts from the country shed light with reference to this year’s theme “Accelerating Change to Solve the Water and Sanitation Crisis”.
The panelists include Dr. Saima Hamid, Vice Chancellor, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Prof. Dr. Sher Muhammad, Chairman, Department of Agriculture Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Sardar Khan Zimri, Deputy Director General, Water Supply, CDA and Muhammad Tanveer, Managing Director, WASA, Rawalpindi.
The panelists emphasized the need of raising awareness among the communities about water scarcity, conservation and WASH facilities. Moreover, collective efforts were stressed to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Later, the United Nation’s World Water Development Report 2023 on “Partnerships and cooperation for Water” was also launched in Pakistan.
