Pakistan is a country with one of the most severe clean water crises in South Asia. Despite having the Indus River β one of the world's largest river systems β flowing through it, over 50 million Pakistanis do not have access to safe drinking water. In rural districts, the figure is even more stark: up to 80% of rural households rely on contaminated surface water, shallow open wells, or water they walk hours to collect.
Where the Crisis Is Worst
The water crisis is not evenly distributed. Certain regions face acute, chronic water poverty:
- Tharparkar, Sindh β One of the world's most water-stressed districts. Women and children walk 3β4 hours daily to collect water from seasonal ponds and unprotected wells.
- Balochistan β The largest province by area and the least served by infrastructure. Many villages have no piped water or functioning hand pumps within walking distance.
- South Punjab β Particularly affected in flood-prone areas where groundwater is contaminated with arsenic and agricultural runoff.
- Interior Sindh β Rural communities drink from irrigation canals shared with livestock and contaminated by pesticide and sewage runoff.
What Contaminated Water Does to Communities
The effects of water scarcity and contamination are cascading and severe:
Killing Children
Waterborne diseases β diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A β are among the leading causes of child mortality in Pakistan. According to UNICEF, approximately 40,000 children under five die from diarrhoea-related illness every year in Pakistan β most of which is preventable with clean water and sanitation.
Trapping Women in a Daily Burden
In rural Pakistan, water collection is women's work. Girls as young as 8 carry heavy clay pots or jerry cans for hours. This time cannot be spent in school. This labour causes chronic spinal and joint injuries. It means women cannot engage in any productive work, education, or rest. A single functioning water well removes this burden entirely.
Keeping Children Out of School
Girls especially are kept out of school to help with water collection. In districts like Tharparkar, female school attendance rates are directly correlated with distance to water. When a well is built near a village, girls' school enrolment increases β sometimes doubling within two years.
Livestock and Agriculture Loss
Farmers cannot irrigate without reliable water access. Livestock die during droughts. Crop failures are frequent. This perpetuates the poverty cycle β families that cannot farm cannot eat, and they certainly cannot pay for their children's education or medical care.
Why This Is a Muslim Donor's Responsibility
Islam is clear on the responsibility of the Muslim who has enough toward those who do not. The Prophet ο·Ί said:
βThe Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. He does not wrong him, nor does he fail him, nor does he look down upon him.β
The families of Tharparkar and Balochistan are our brothers and sisters. Their children are dying from preventable diseases. Their women are spending their lives carrying water. The solution β a hand pump or water well β costs as little as Β£340. This is the cost of a weekend away, a new smartphone, a couple of restaurant dinners.
For that amount, an entire cluster of families gets clean water for 20β30 years. The maths of impact is overwhelming.
How HBSMWA Is Responding
HBSMWA has built over 500 water wells across Pakistan's most water-stressed regions. Our local teams on the ground identify communities through need assessments, ensuring that wells are built where impact is greatest β not just where access is easiest. Every donor receives a photo report and completion certificate within 45 days.