HYGIENE

Hygiene refers to behaviours that can improve cleanliness and lead to good health, such as frequent hand washing, face washing, and bathing with soap and water. In many areas of the world, practicing personal hygiene etiquette is difficult due to lack of clean water and soap. Many diseases can be spread if the hands, face, or body are not washed appropriately at key times.

It is estimated that washing hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50%. A large percentage of foodborne disease outbreaks are spread by contaminated hands. Appropriate hand washing practices can reduce the risk of foodborne illness and other infections.

LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Liquid waste management is collection, treatment and disposal of sewage as well as the protection of the environment from polluted runoff. Largely, the liquid waste in urban areas of Pakistan is processed by sewer systems and individual septic systems, being managed by municipalities, WASAs, WSSCs and Housing Authorities. The non-point source pollution is a major contributor of liquid waste that includes runoff from farming activities, failed septic systems, vehicles and gardening products. Effluent from non-point sources is often not managed by community drainage systems. A liquid waste management plan (LWMP) guides these activities, and is designed specifically to meet the needs of individual areas, based on technical and regulatory requirements, as well as input from the community. 

Total SANITATION

Sanitation is one of the essential necessities of human life and its dignity. Access to sanitation services is a basic right implied in the Constitution of Pakistan under the Article 9, “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty, save in accordance with the law.” United Nations General Assembly, on 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. Poor sanitation harms the human health also gives birth to multiple socio-economic and environmental concerns. Inadequate disposal of human excreta and personal hygiene are associated with a range of diseases including polio, diarrheal diseases, jaundice, typhoid, malaria, dengue viral fever and cholera. The economic costs poor bear for cure of these diseases (i.e. expense on medical treatment, loss of productive time and loss of income) pushes them deeper into the vicious cycle of poverty, and the economic cost of poor water and sanitation services is estimated to be around 3.94% of the GDP of Pakistan.Under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Safely Managed Sanitation services are defined as: population using an improved sanitation facility (including a hand washing facility with water and soap) that is not shared with other households and where the excreta are safely disposed in situ or transported and treated off-site.

TREE PLANTATION

Pakistan only has 5% of forest landcover as opposed to an internationally set standard of 25%. In order to increase the forest coverage, plantation is included as a main component of the CGPM. The program is executed in 100 districts by the Ministry of Climate Change and the Wildlife Departments with a total cost of PKR 3.652 billion over a time period of 5 years (2016-2021). Increase in forest area will also result in revival of wildlife resources and strengthening the zoological surveys of Pakistan.

SAFE DRINKING WATER

Clean water is an essential element for human health, wellbeing and prosperity. Whether used for drinking, cleaning, food production or industrial output, access to sufficient water resources is a basic human need. Access to sanitation services is a basic right implied in the Constitution of Pakistan under the Article 9, “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty, save in accordance with the law.” United Nations General Assembly, on 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. Access to sufficient and safe sanitation facilities is also vital for hygiene, disease prevention, and human health. Under Sustainable Development Goals, safely managed water services are defined as: Population using an improved drinking water source, which is:

1. Located in premises
2. Available when needed
3. Free of faecal and priority chemical contamination.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Solid waste is the material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. Inadequate mechanisms and approaches for disposing off municipal and other solid waste can create unhygienic and poor sanitation situations along with leading towards pollution and outbreaks of vector borne diseases. Solid Waste Management offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash. Waste management is all about how solid waste can be changed and used as a valuable resource. Solid waste management should be embraced by each and every household including entrepreneurs and business organizations. The main sources of Solid Waste creation are residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and agricultural activities.