Islamabad: A World Bank report has marked water supply and sanitation in Pakistan as major health hazards for Pakistan’s population, particularly young children, a news source reported. The report primarily looked into the impact of water issues on child stunting.
The report noted that Pakistan has made progress when it comes to the reduction of poverty, improving diet and providing proper toilets, however, the results have not been as good as expected. The report also found that bacterial contamination of surface and groundwater is on the rise because of the lack of treatment on human waste and the rural and/or poorer areas are the worst affected.
The waste is also finding its way into surface soil and into water used for crop irrigation contaminating the food supply. Young children face the highest risk because of diarrhoea and stunting due to environmental entropy, which limits the absorption of nutrients.
