Strengthening Climate-Resilient WASH Systems in Rural Communities: Water Scarcity, Governance, and Gender Vulnerabilities in Disaster-Prone Regions of Pakistan

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are critical to both community health and human health, so it is imperative in less urban areas where these services are critical to the health of the population. This study is significant because climate change has created key challenges to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems in the rural areas of Pakistan. The fact that there are increased vulnerabilities among the communities, especially women, as concerns water scarcity and inadequate sanitation, poses an imperative need for having environmentally resilient and gender-inclusive WASH systems that the study aims to bring into focus. Improving governance and infrastructure ensures climate-resilient WASH, better health, and socio-economic outcomes for disaster-prone rural communities. A qualitative methodology was used, whereby interviews, focus groups, and participatory observation mechanisms were deployed to collect data among 90 respondents concerning three areas (all three provinces of Pakistan, i.e., Tharparkar (Sindh), Chitral (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) cross-cutting across social, governance, and gender dimensions of WASH-related issues. More than 70 percent of the rural populations surveyed complained of a lack of sufficient clean water supply, compounded by the unpredictable weather and disasters caused by climate change, such as floods and droughts. Most of the time, women engaged in water collection spend an average of 2.5 hours every day collecting water; hence, they have limited access to education and economic activities. Also, poor community involvement and lack of coordination among stakeholders are governance weaknesses that block effective delivery of WASH services.