To Assess Challenges and Opportunities in Enhancing Access to Adequate, Safe and Affordable Watsan Services in District Peshawar: The Role of Local Government

The aim of this study was to assess the challenges and opportunities in access to improved water and sanitation (WatSan) services, the effects of unsafe WatSan services on the health of the population (adult and children under-five), and the prospects of revenue generation from improved WatSan services in Pakistan. The study is based on novel data collected from 278 households - selected using proportionate random sampling technique - across three village councils (VC), namely Arbaban, Nothia Qadeem-I and Achar-II, of district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP) of Pakistan. Data were collected from households and government officials using two separate questionnaires. The descriptive analysis shows that people in the research area used various sources of potable water such as government sponsored water supply and sanitation programme (WSSP) (76.7%), bore-sourced drinking water (12.5%), and public health department services (10.8%). As many as 91.7% respondents reported occurrence of water-borne diseases in their households in the last six months and 12.5% reported under-five mortality in their households. Furthermore, the respondents in the research area were aware about the importance of safe sanitation However, the health effects of unsafe WatSan services were separately determined for adult population as well as children under-five by using chi-square tests of independence. The study also concludes that despite the existence of a number of issues in access to improved WatSan services, consumers were willing to pay for improved services. The policy implications of the study is that In order to close the communication gap between consumers and policymakers, this study advises practitioners in the local government department and WSSP should develop programs and strategies for provision of safe WatSan services in the study area.