By Musarrat Farooqui

Access to clean drinking water is essential for everyone health, either they belong to rural and urban cities.

In this matter, WaterAid Pakistan, an international not-for-profit, organised a Media Engagement Session, on climate-resilient WASH advocacy in Pakistan. The session aimed to underscore the critical relationship between climate change and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, while fostering greater media involvement in addressing these pressing issues. The session was led by Dr. Shakeel Hayat, Climate Change Specialist at WaterAid Pakistan, who highlighted the urgency of building climate-resilient WASH systems to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.He presented and emphasised the critical interplay between climate change, water security, and public health, offering actionable solutions to address these challenges."WASH is foundational to maintaining public health, particularly in healthcare settings where the risk of infection and disease transmission is elevated." "In Sindh, the health sector budgeting and allocation processes have historically underrepresented WASH initiatives, comprising the ability to provide adequate care and prevent the spread of infections.""This brief, based on WaterAid's finding, call for a strategic revaluation of budget priorities to significantly enhance WASH allocations within the health sector", Hayat said.The event concluded with remarks from Muhammad Khaliq, Provincial Manager for Sindh and Balochistan, he stated that “Building climate-resilient WASH systems is not just about infrastructure; it’s about empowering communities to adapt to the realities of a changing climate. "He said that collaboration between the media, policymakers, and development partners is essential to drive this change and ensure sustainable solutions for those who need them most.WaterAid Pakistan unvaild five-year country programme strategy and focusing the climate resilience within WASH services and ongoing collaboration with stakeholders.The session covered the key policy challenges in Pakistan related to WASH and climate change, and also discussed the ongoing advocacy efforts and the need for climate-resilient policies. The segment explored the interconnectedness of climate change and WASH system.

WaterAid is an international not-for-profit, determined to make clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. WaterAid focuses solely on sustainable and safe WASH and have almost two decades of in-country experience and expertise. It works with government and non-governmental partners to ensure that these essential services are available to poor and marginalized communities, especially women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. It employ a public health and climate adaptation approach to addressing current water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) service requirements and sustaining them for the future. Hygiene behaviour change; menstrual hygiene; rural and urban sanitation, and safe water systems; WASH in institutions (healthcare facilities, schools, public places); and nature-based solutions for water conservation, groundwater recharge, and waste-water treatment are some of the interventions used for achieving our objectives. It work with sector partners to support and influence the behavioural, institutional and policy mechanisms for accelerating progress toward achieving safe and sustainable WASH access for all, especially the poor and marginalised communities.