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Day 22

A handwashing station for a village in Pakistan

Infectious diseases Infectious diseases

A handwashing station for a village in Pakistan
Day 22
Avoid hand washing facilities

After using the toilet and before eating – don’t forget to wash your hands! Almost every kindergarten child knows this verse. Washing your hands quickly becomes a habit. But in rural Pakistan there are few schools and no kindergartens, and knowledge of such behavior is often lacking. In many areas there is also a severe water shortage. There is barely enough water for cooking and drinking. Personal hygiene is often neglected. People bathe in streams and ponds. These are also used for washing clothes and as watering holes for livestock. It is not uncommon to see children bathing at their mothers’ washing places. On the other hand, toilets or washing places are rarely seen. The routes for pathogens to reach people, e.g. via hands, water or food, are therefore short and regularly lead to infectious diseases.

Avoid hand washing facilities
need
Better hygiene provision for the population
activity
Construction of hand washing stations
Measurable performance
Number of handwashing stations that could be set up
Result
Measurable reduction in respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases, especially among children. Measurable reduction in days missed from school due to illness.
Systemically relevant impact
Reducing child mortality from infectious diseases and improving the health situation of the population
background

According to the United Nations, respiratory diseases and diarrheal diseases are among the main causes of child mortality worldwide. In Pakistan, according to UNICEF, water pollution causes 60% of child mortality. At the same time, proper hand washing with soap can prevent many deaths from diarrheal diseases and respiratory diseases. This makes hand washing with soap the most effective method of reducing the high child mortality rate from these diseases. Despite this, it is extremely rare at critical times (i.e. before eating/preparing food, after using the toilet), especially in rural areas of Pakistan. People with weakened immune systems (children, pregnant women, the elderly, the sick) are particularly susceptible to germs. Therefore, education and the creation of washing facilities are absolutely necessary to protect children in the future. Studies show that educational events in schools can significantly reduce the risk and reduce the number of days of absence by up to 50%.

Day 22 Day 22
The good deed

The Tippytaps are a simple instrument for washing hands with soap that can be built from local materials. It is particularly water-efficient, very inexpensive and can be reproduced or repaired by the local population at any time. There are no follow-up costs after the project ends. The target group will design the Tippytap themselves and according to their own wishes and preferences, which will strengthen their sense of responsibility.

AboutPakistan
Islamabad
Islamabad
Capital city
184,662,000 (2013)
184,662,000 (2013)
Population
1,296 US$
1,296 US$
Gross domestic product per capita per year
146
146
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Five of the world's 14 eight-thousanders are located in Pakistan, including K2 and Nanga Parbat. The Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Himalayas, the three highest mountain ranges in the world, meet in the north of Pakistan.

About the organization and further information

organization

Action Medeor

DZI donation seal, member of the German Donation Council, PWC Transparency Award 2012

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