World Water Day 2020: Photo Story by Aga Khan Agency for Habitat
A photo story shared by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat on the occasion of World Water Day.
Photo – 1(Issue): Over half of the people across Pakistan lack access to safe and clean water and have no choice but to consume water from whatever source exists in their villages, regardless of quality. Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, aiming to improve quality of life, is implementing water supply schemes across mountain communities in Pakistan.
Photo –2 (Issue): In mountainous parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, traditional wells are used as water reservoirs collecting the water coming from streams through canals. This water, coming directly from open sources, is unsafe as it is contaminated due to its exposure to both humans and animals. Without access to another source of water, people use this unsafe water for different purposes including drinking, cooking, and other domestic purposes.
Photo-03 (issue): Clean drinking water has always been a huge problem for communities living in mountainous areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. Women and children are impacted the most as they must travel long distances to fetch water for cooking, washing and laundry. AKAH’s work to connect each household to safe and clean with a water tap in their home, enables women to keep their children safe from waterborne diseases, spend more quality time with their families, and also reduces time and labor lost to fetching water.
Photo – 4( Addressing the issue): Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), with the help of communities, identifies water sources in the village, tests the water quality using its technical expertise, develops water infrastructure, constructs water reservoirs, and provides each family with a water tap in their home. More than 500,000 people across Pakistan have now access to safe drinking water in their homes, through AKAH’s efforts.
Photo 5 (Solution): Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s WASEP model uses a community-based approach to help mountain communities get year-round all season access to safe water. AKAH’s approach uses deep digging and other techniques to ensure that water does not freeze in the pipes despite the fact that these villages are covered in snow for more than five months of the year.
Photo 6 (Solution): “I enjoy taking fresh water from this tap in my home; you would say I am in love with it that’s why I stand here many times a day”.
Photo 7 (Impact): Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, with its mandate to improve quality of life, is helping women and young girls across Pakistan enjoy a healthy life, by providing access to safe water in their homes, reducing their exposure to water borne diseases, allowing them to spend more quality time with families.
