40 percent deaths in Pakistan linked with

poor water quality

BY PPI , (LAST UPDATED AUGUST 29, 2019)

KARACHI: Around 135,000 deaths per year are attributed to ambient

air pollution, making it the leading cause of sickness and death in
Pakistan. About $48 billion is the estimated economic burden of air
pollution in Pakistan.

Air pollution and lack of proper waste management infrastructure are

the major environmental issues in Karachi. The year 2025 has been
marked as the year Pakistan, if it doesn’t mend its ways soon, will turn
from a “water-stressed” country to a “water-scarce” country. In
Pakistan, it is estimated that about 30 percent of all diseases and 40
percent of all deaths are due to poor water quality.”
Muhammad Waseem Vohra, Convener FPCCI Central Committee on
Industry Academia Collaboration on Water Resources, expressed
these views at the 52nd Public Awareness Seminar on “Saving Water
and Environmental Sustainability”, held at Dr. Panjwani Center for
Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) University of Karachi
on Wednesday. Dr Panjwani Center and Virtual Education Project
Pakistan (VEPP) jointly organised the seminar.

Vohra said that the government must focus on legislation, advanced

technology development and public participation to conserve the
country’s water resources and provide every Pakistani sustainable
access to a safe water supply.

The most water is used in irrigation of agriculture lands, stressing the

particular significance of the country’s agriculture sector, which
contributes about 25 percent of Pakistan’s GNP, he said.

He informed the seminar that it was estimated that, in Pakistan, 30

percent of all diseases and 40 percent of all deaths are due to poor
water quality.

The poor water supply was caused by the lack of water availability, he
said and pointed out that water pollution was mainly caused by heavy
utilization of water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes.

He lamented that the various forms of pollution had increased in the

country, as Karachi owned extensive environmental and health
problems. Air pollution, lack of proper waste management
infrastructure and degradation of water bodies are the major
environmental issues in Karachi, he mentioned.
Therefore saving water in all areas domestic, agriculture and industrial
sectors shall be followed on modern lines and should make
legislations as per flaws found by experts in our society, he said.

Pakistan has major dams with a storage capacity of water of 102

Million Cubic Feet, while availability is 140 Million, which shows that a
considerable amount of water is being wasted or it flows into the sea,
he pointed out. Our Agriculture is using 95 Percent of water available
from Indus River system, he said, adding that this system based on
Stone Age irrigation techniques, which needed to be changed with the
modern system.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/08/29/40-percent-deaths-in-pakistan-linked-with-poor-water-
quality/