CED has been awarded a grant of just under £50,000 to deliver health improvements in 10 villages in the water-stressed Tharparkar region of Pakistan. This project builds on a successful partnership with local NGO PVDP through which the lives of over 10,000 people were transformed through the £424,000 Community Water Project.
The latest project was with UK aid from the UK government. It focusses on a population of 5,250 people in 10 villages in rural Tharparkar. These communities face extreme poverty which, when coupled with lack of education and low rainfall, results in poor health and very high infant mortality.
A key aspect of the approach adopted for this project is CED’s and PVDP’s well-proven approach to community engagement. Using a participatory approach with women in village committees is seen as crucial, since local ownership is vital to the project’s success. In this way the project aims to engage with and help the community to end open defecation, which is prevalent and a major contributor to disease.
The project will also construct latrines, improve water security by building water storage reservoirs and introduce water pumps to help those with disabilities. It has also been recognized that health improvements may not be sustained without improved hygiene practices – so hygiene awareness training, including distribution of women’s hygiene kits, will also be carried out.
Further updates will be provided as project implementation progresses.
