ISLAMABAD: In collaboration with KOICA, UNOPS Pakistan is supporting the Ministry of Climate Change to strengthen the technical and coordination capacity of the Government of Pakistan for monitoring drinking water quality in close cooperation with the provincial governments of Punjab and KP, PCRWR and Pak-EPA.
More than 62 million people in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and Islamabad will benefit from this project, a press release said.
At the event held in Islamabad, Senator Mr. Muhammad Sabir Shah (Chief Guest), Senator Ms. Keshoo Bai, Ms. Samar Ihsan, Additional Secretary EAD, Ms. Sadia Sarwat, Additional Secretary Ministry of Climate Change, Park Ki Jun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Yeon Je Ho , Country Director KOICA Pakistan and Ms. Jennifer Ankhom-Khan, Country Manager UNOPS Pakistan attended the closing ceremony of the project “Improving Water Quality Monitoring System to Achieve SDG 6 in Islamabad, Punjab and KP”
We recognize the basic right to clean and safe drinking water, and the first and essential step is to monitor its quality. Pakistan faces a significant challenge as nearly 44% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water.
In response, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) worked with UNOPS Pakistan to improve water quality monitoring systems in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan.
UNOPS Pakistan is implementing this project in collaboration with Ministry of Climate Change Pakistan (MoCC), Pakistan Council of Water Resources Research (PCRWR), Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and Public Health and Engineering Departments of Government of Punjab and KP.
The USD 4.4 million project was implemented in 35 district laboratories in Punjab, 8 divisional laboratories in KP and research and monitoring laboratories of PCRWR and Pak-EPA in Islamabad.
The project includes major upgrades to water quality testing laboratories, including the purchase and installation of advanced laboratory equipment, minor infrastructure improvements to ensure a safe working environment, capacity building initiatives for laboratory staff and the WASH Cell MoCC, implementation of a Management Information System (MIS) for better coordination and provision of 8 vehicles converted into water quality testing laboratories for KP Government and 1 vehicle for PCRWR.
