Daily Times

Despite having received a funding of millions of rupees from donors for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project launched in several districts of Pakistan, an international non-governmental organization has failed to bring about any visible results on the ground.

The project was launched by Plan International-Pakistan around five years back in many villages of Chakwal, Vehari, Layyah and Rahim Yar Khan districts of Punjab province with an aim to provide clean drinking water to around 224,000 people.

Sources within the organization told Daily Times that the WASH project in Chakwal district did not yield the desirable results as it could not be fully implemented on the ground. The INGO had planned to launch the project in 10 villages of Chakwal but failed to execute it and later wound it up altogether. “However, in the official record of Plan International-Pakistan, the project has been completed and the targeted population is reaping the benefits,” said an official of the organisation, wishing anonymity. He said the INGO had received a funding of Rs 30 million for the project.

The official said that the INGO also planned another project – PATS 2014-18 – to facilitate some 86,266 individuals from rural communities across 12 districts of Pakistan by providing them with safe drinking water through water supply schemes. The official revealed that the PATS project also could not yield the desired goals despite the organization receiving heavy funding from different national and intentional donors.

When contacted, Plan International-Pakistan Country Director Imran Yusuf Shami said he was not available for comments due to some family engagements and would respond after a couple of days. However, he did not respond later despite repeated calls and multiple visits to his office to seek his version.

Published in Daily Times, May 13^th 2018.