Unsafe drinking water is the world's second biggest killer of children and the NGOs should play an important role in helping communities sustain and better manage the filtration plants installed by the government throughout Pakistan, Anne Aarnes, USAID Mission Director said.
She was addressing on the occasion of issuing 17 grants to NGOs under the USAID-funded Pakistan Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Promotion Project on Thursday. The project costs 16.7 million dollars and is being implemented in nine districts of Pakistan and one agency in Fata. These include Shangla, Battagram, Mansehra, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Dadu, Lasbela, Muzaffarabad and Mohmand Agency.
Support for this project is part of the 1.5 billion dollars aid that the US government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, governance and the earth quake reconstruction.