press releases
USAID Supplies Sanitation Facilities To 53 Konch Valley Villages
04/03/2006
Islamabad - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing shelter and sanitary facilities for nearly 30,000 people in 53 villages in the Konch Valley, Mansehra district through funding partner Catholic Relief Services. The villagers received winterized shelter kits from USAID and are now building -- sometimes for the first time -- sanitary and bathing facilities next to their homes.
The program identifies the number of facilities required in each community and trains local carpenters to build them. A demonstration program helps residents understand how to use USAID-supplied materials and learn the importance of building facilities.
Local carpenters participating in the cash-for-work project receive 350 rupees to construct each cubicle. Each job takes about two hours to complete. Money earned by the carpenters allows them to purchase goods needed for their households and injects cash into the local economy.
The October 8 earthquake destroyed most houses and sanitation facilities in the area. The lack of proper sanitation facilities creates considerable risk for the spread of disease through the contamination of existing water sources and the surrounding environment.
"We had no such facilities even before the earthquake," said Abdul Waris of Chulundrian, a village perched 7,000 feet above sea level in Konch Valley. "The biggest advantage is the privacy they provide. This will help our ability to stay clean."
USAID has supplemented this sanitation program with a community-based hygiene promotion campaign that has educated more than 22,000 people so far about disease prevention, waste management and general cleanliness. Next, in keeping with its commitment to providing safe drinking water, USAID plans to rehabilitate water systems in these villages.
The United States, through USAID, is providing more than $1.5 billion in development assistance to Pakistan over the next five years to improve education, health, governance and economic growth. In addition, the United States has pledged a total of $510 million in earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts to assist the people of Pakistan and to support Pakistani government relief and reconstruction efforts.