5. Hepatitis and etc

As the rural communities have no awareness to drink safe and clean water and save themselves and their family from the dangerous water borne diseases and on other hand they no option to safe and clean drinking unless they will be not trained of facilitated with the innovative type filtration  plants as their household level.

District Thatta is considered as a neglected and backward area of Pakistan. Most of the villages in Thatta district has not proper physical infrastructure i.e. roads, electricity etc.  The general awareness of rural people about the core issues is very low.  Most of the rural people are illiterate. The facilities of schools, rural health centre and roads are not available even communities facing improper transport facilities. 90% population of the area belongs to agriculture and 10% are engaged with fishing since their forefathers. The agriculture activities are suffering due to non-availability of irrigation water since last three year. The underground water is brackish and not fit for irrigation or drinking, resulting poor agriculture and non availability of safe drinking water. Hence the socio-economic conditions of the rural communities in the target area are poor.  Only 15% of the total land of targeted villages is under cultivation and rest of 85% is remaining uncultivable.  The plantation of crops and the forest trees are decreased up to 50-60 % in the area no Government or private nursery available in the targeted villages.

The heavy Cyclone hit the area in the year 1999, in which the district Thatta & Badin affected 90% of the land comes under floods. Hundreds of farmers and the fisher man died due to heavy cyclone waves. Some of the dead bodies found on the trees and hundreds of animals also died. The boats used to recover peoples from the flooded lands. Pakistan army and NGOs launched relief activities to save lives of affected communities. Again in the year 2002 heavy rains hit the area and the Talukas of Jati, Gularchi, Kadhan, Paqngrio, Raj Malik and Gharo affected badly and once again communities lost their crops and animals. From the year 2002-2005 shortage of irrigation water and peoples facing drought like conditions and have nothing to do or cultivate and even they lost most of their animals or sold in the cheap rate for their livelihood purposes. According to the survey of AHD team conducted in 2004-2005 and interviews of 02 councilors of Deh Khanto & Khadi, Jati area expresses that the 60% of the cultivated lands are not been cultivated since 2002 and dried due to shortage of irrigation water. It means thousands of hectares of agricultural lands are dried and it is increasing dramatically day by day. The shortage of irrigation and rainwater is also promoting big loss for the wild birds are migrating from other countries but at present only few birds are seen according to local community. its present population estimated about 1,200,000 and the literacy rate very low as 22.1% from which male is 33% and women is only 12%. The basic health facilities and education is scarce. Due to low literacy rate the women of the area dominated by the male society. The health facilities of the area are unsatisfactory, no proper education and women are directly depending on domestic animals.   Women of the women in these backward areas are at more disadvantageous position and have been bearing the brunt of distress situation. They are brought up stuffing in their mind to remain submissive and forgo their desires and dreams. The rural woman is particularly dependent   on   male family member to fulfill her basic and day to day needs. As she has not as such participation in earning income that is why neither considered respectable nor has self-esteem. In decision making, relating to her own life, she has on say and absolutely at the march of others. This is the time to take initiative to empower rural women by developing awareness of fundamental right and self-sufficiency. In a way they will also be able to play a constructive role for the economy of country and society at large

Scarcity of safe water in Thatta District

The Thatta district is the one or remote coastal area near sea and the generally temperatures 20 22 degree in winter and 25 to 35 in summer the annual rainfall is very low and the humidity remain high. The ground water is brackish in whole district only some hand pumps installed at 15 to 2oft nearby water canals.

 Most of the rural families of Jati area drinking canal water as the survey conducted in September 2007 through UNDP to know the drinking water conditions. There is no filtration system at household’s level and most of the families drinking the canal water as it is. The gastro and diheria ration is very high and the basic health facilities are not maintained the nearby BHC units are closed or no doctor available that’s why rural communities needs to travel to Jati area 5-20 or more km. some cases found that the majority suffering with common water borne diseases and having no option or awareness regarding its control. Women fetching canal water from 1-2 km meters some times even more and they have no awareness to clean or filter that water. During the water intervals they have small ponds, tanks or ditches to store water and use that water for the drinking purposes as that water is contaminated and some times animals and birds also using that ponds and same is used by the village communities.

Many families drinking brackish hand pump water and they have only opportunity to drink as the canal water is more colorless and dirty. The canal water is available and district Govt. also giving small water tanks (Katcha) which is the opportunity for villagers to filter or clean that water through the Bio-Sand Nadi filter is an opportunity for the affected families to adopt this cheap and innovative technology.