2008 Press Releases
USAID Supports Access to Clean Drinking Water
March 20, 2008
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today awarded grants to 20 local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to instruct communities in 10 districts and two Federally Administered Tribal Area agencies on clean water and hygiene practices.
“Water- and sanitation-related diseases are responsible for 60 percent of child deaths in Pakistan, with diarrhea estimated to kill 230,000 Pakistani children under the age of five each year,” said Anne Aarnes, Mission Director of USAID/Pakistan. “USAID is helping Pakistani communities access clean water and adopt sanitary practices that save lives.”
The grants are part of USAID’s $17.9 million Pakistan Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Promotion Project. The three-year project complements the Government of Pakistan’s Clean Drinking Water Initiative by working with communities to ensure that government-provided water filtration plants are properly maintained.
These grants will help to improve water and sanitation in Sukkur, Jaffarabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanewal, Okara, Bagh, Rawalakot, Neelum, Kohistan, Upper Dir, Bajaur Agency and Kurrum Agency.
Support for Pakistan Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Promotion Project is part of the $1.5 billion in aid the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over a five-year period to improve economic growth, education, health, governance, and earthquake reconstruction.