Web desk: “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” W.H. Auden
In Pakistan, where rivers and canals traverse the country, it is surprising to find that millions of citizens, and particularly children, lack access to as simple a thing as clean drinking water.
The impact is tragic: diarrheal illness continues to be one of the primary causes of child deaths, depriving families of their children and the country of its future.
36 per cent of Pakistani families do not have access to safe drinking water, as reported by UNICEF. Poor rural and urban children drink from dirty wells, streams, and pipes that may harbour bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
The consequence is recurrent bouts of diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, and dehydration. For children under the age of five, each infection carries the danger of stunted growth, malnutrition, and death.
The Quran reminds us: “And We made from water every living thing” (21:30). This verse underscores the centrality of clean water in sustaining life.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ further emphasised: “The best form of charity is giving water to drink.” (Ahmad). Beyond being a religious duty, providing safe water is a moral and social responsibility.
Experts indicate that the issue is not only scarcity but also quality. Industrial effluent, pesticides, and sewage all pollute groundwater and open channels.
In parts of some countries, arsenic is present at deadly levels. The poorest communities are the ones who suffer, as they cannot afford bottled water or sophisticated purification systems.
Solutions need not be expensive. Chlorination plants based on the community, basic sand filtration systems, solar disinfection, and education campaigns for boiling and safe storage can have a major impact on disease burden.
In Bangladesh, identical low-cost interventions reduced deaths from childhood diarrhoea by nearly 50 per cent in a decade. Pakistan needs to learn from such success stories.
Public health practitioners believe clean water does not just constitute a service but also preventive medicine.
Spending on water purification benefits the state much more than the billions it spends each year on treating avoidable diseases.
It also supports Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, one that Pakistan has committed itself to achieving by 2030.
Kids are the most susceptible, but they are the most in need of protection as well. Each child should be able to have healing water to drink, not poisoning water.
If Pakistan wants a healthier tomorrow, safe drinking water needs to be its priority, now, not later.
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