The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), with the technical and financial support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), will establish water quality testing laboratories in three Pakistani cities, viz. Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar.
The purpose of setting up the laboratories, which would cost US $4.4 million, is to help the Government of Pakistan provide safe drinking water to the people of these cities.
UNOPS is working with the Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), and Public Health Engineering Departments (PHEDs) to help enhance the technical capacities of the Government of Pakistan to ensure public access to safe drinking water.
The project will also help the Ministry of Climate Change strengthen the technical and coordination capacity of its WASH [water, sanitation and hygiene] Cell to monitor the quality of drinking water in close collaboration with provincial governments. It envisages achieving sustainable development goals for clean water and sanitation for all, improving overall public health.
The project will utilize a $4.4 million fund to address the issue of the lack of clean water by procuring essential water quality testing equipment and upgrading the water quality testing laboratories in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The rollout of a Management Information Software (MIS) will strengthen the water quality data management at the provincial level and enable the Ministry of Climate Change to monitor the quality of drinking water in close collaboration with provincial governments.
Addressing a ceremony held in this connection, Additional Secretary Ministry of Climate Change, Joudat Ayaz said, “The Government of Pakistan is committed to actions tackling WASH issues through the Clean Green Pakistan Initiative. Water management is a big challenge both in quality and quantity, and therefore this project is a timely and meaningful partnership and can contribute to improving water management in Pakistan.”
Country Director KOICA Pakistan, Seok Woong Yang said, “The Korean Government will continue to support the Government of Pakistan in different sectors, especially in the water sector. I hope that this project will improve people’s quality of life by enhancing water quality and will help in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.”
Country Manager UNOPS, Ms. Marysia Zapasnik remarked, “In Pakistan, around 22 million people still live without access to clean and safe water. We will continue to support the Ministry of Climate Change in providing the people of Pakistan with increased access to safe drinking water and improving their quality of life.”
