| As
most households in Thatta district (particularly Jati) of Sindh province in
Pakistan use unfiltered ‘nadi’ (canal) water there is a high incidence of
water-borne and gastric diseases, compounded by a lack of awareness and means
by which to control them. Further, women travel 1-2 km or more to fetch water,
with no awareness of the need to filter it or use filtration means.
Twenty
CBOs from vulnerable villages in this coastal area were organised; access to
safe, clean drinking water for 1,000 families and 12,000 individuals was
provided on a sustainable basis via 1,000 bio-sand ‘Nadi’ filter units from 1
September 2007 to 30 August 2008; twenty capacity-building workshops on health-
and hygiene-awareness were held among 100 women leaders in 20 villages and 4
TOT (training of trainers) workshops on the ‘Nadi’ filter were held among the
women CBO members.
Through
provision of 1,000 ‘Nadi’ filter units, sustainable access to safe and clean
drinking water for 1,000 families and 12,000 individuals was achieved. Families
who previously drank canal water were trained in use of ‘Nadi’ filter units at
the household level in 22 villages in Jati. The project was successful as
‘Nadi’ water filters procured in the village communities suppressed outbreaks
of gastritis and diarrhea. Also, the number of hospital visits by infants and
children has lowered. Multi-stakeholder cooperation was the key to success of
this project.
As
a result of severe flooding during August 2010, the Jati area became submerged,
which severely damaged homes, agriculture, roads and infrastructure. Therefore,
support to reinstall ‘Nadi’ filter units is needed in flood-affected villages
to provide drinking water for the afflicted women, children inhabitants.
References
APFED
2011, ‘Booklet on Good Practices and Innovative Activities (2005 – 2009),’ Asia
Pacific Forum for Environment and Development, Second Phase APFED II, p. 78,
Ministry of Environment, Japan, March,
<http://pub.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/upload/4145/attach/apfed_150.pdf>,
accessed 30 November 2013.
Bhatti,
A.K. and Khwaja, M.A. 2009, ‘Access to safe drinking water through Nadi water
filter in Remote Rural Jati area (Thatta) Sindh, Pakistan’, June, Sustainable
Development Policy Institute, Pakistan, <http://www.apfedshowcase.net/sites/default/files/Final%20Report_AHD,%20Pakistan.pdf>,
accessed 30 November 2013
Yasmin,
F. Habib, K. and Khwaja, M.A. 2011, ‘Access to Safe Drinking Water in City
Slums through Household Water Treatment Systems: Nadi Water Filter – A Case
Study’, April, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan,
<http://www.sdpi.org/publications/files/nadi-filter.pdf>, accessed
30 November 2013.
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