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Pakistan is a vast country, home to 166 million people.
It is geographically diverse with large deserts, remote mountainous regions and
extensive flood plains.
Turbulent politics and a lack of investment have left it underdeveloped
and reliant on international aid.
Life expectancy here is 67 years.
Official figures state that 90% of people have access to safe water and
45% to sanitation.
It is estimated that the lack of these services cause diseases that cost the
country 12 billion dollars each year in health expenses and lost
earnings.
By 2015
over half of the country's population will live in urban areas which will put
increasing strain on water and sanitation services.
We have had a small presence in Pakistan for nearly two decades,
working with partner organisations in urban slums to support communities to
negotiate and build their own legal connections to city sewers and water supplies.
The experiences from this unique work have informed our urban work around the world.
In recent years we have expanded our reach into water-stressed rural locations as well
including a large rainwater harvesting project in the Thar desert which helped
2,500 people.
We have also initiated extensive hygiene education work in schools.
To date, across Pakistan we have helped more than 90,000 people
gain access to clean water
and more than 147,000 to sanitation.
We help communities by providing water purification tablets and temporary latrines.
In the rehabilitation phase we supported local organisations in Sindh
and Punjab to help communities get back on their feet.
In the coming years we will push for the inclusion of water, sanitation and hygiene
within health and education sectors.
And we will continue to develop our approaches to ensure we help people
in the most appropriate ways;
reaching out to more urban communities and to those living in poverty in rural areas.