An inception workshop on “Early Recovery Programme for Rural Sanitation in Flood Affected Districts of Pakistan” was held on Friday here at a local hotel.
The Plan International with financial support from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has designed a comprehensive rural sanitation programme to be conducted in three phases to spread awareness regarding hygiene and health, said a statement issued here.
It said that a recent research had shown that human excreta were becoming a major cause for spread of poliovirus in children of flood affected districts and Plan International and UNICEF are joining hands to raise awareness about sanitation and hygiene so that polio could be eradicated.
The purpose of the workshop was to increase mutual understanding between partners and government officials in order to improve the sanitation coverage in flood-affected districts, reaching out to more than 7 million people in 33 districts of Pakistan.
“Half of the total population there are children. As per Pakistan’s flood emergency plan 2010, 13.3 million people are in need of safe drinking water and basic sanitary assistance,” the statement said.
Pakistan has been declared in emergency state because it is the only nation where poliovirus is still thriving.
President of Pakistan has made a call to make an emergency action plan for the eradication of this virus. Responding to national polio eradication programme, the UNICEF has prioritised its strategy for high polio risk districts of Pakistan.
This proposed project in partnership with the Plan International will supplement national polio eradication emergency action plan through raising awareness and improved sanitation coverage in seventeen flood affected districts.
Plan International Country Director Haider Yaqub said polio was affecting Pakistani children and that adopting safe sanitation practices and improved hygiene conditions could help save the children from the crippling disease.
Penninah Mathenge and Irfan Rahi from the UNICEF and Plan International Programme Support Manager Imran Shami also spoke on the occasion.
More than 30 organisations including UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations participated in the workshop.
The speakers presented their strategies to improve sanitation situation and behaviour change for the eradication of polio.
