Water, sanitation and hygiene related disease cause significant deaths and sickness in emergencies. Even without the disruption of an emergency, diarrhea is the second biggest killer of children under five acute respiratory tract infections.

In emergency situations, epidemics of diarrheal diseases can also cause a high death toll in the adult population. In order to have an impact on health, it is critical that intervention address not only the provision of the hardware such as water pumps and toilet but also ensure that these facilities are used effectually. The Public Health Promotion and Public Health Engineering activities under the WASH aim to ensure Safe water and sanitation conditions are enhanced on one hand while on the other the these facilities are used and that people particularly children and women, the most vulnerable segment, take necessary action to mitigate water and sanitation related disease .

“Rapid Onset Emergency-IDPs in NWFP” was a collaborative project of LASOONA and Oxfam-GB which served 15,000 returnee’s IDPs families of District Swat living in five Union Council Qamber, Rahimabad, Malook Abad, Saidu Sharif and Amankot/Faizabad. Under the project, 15,000 Non Food Items (NFIs) comprising of Hygiene, Kitchen and household sets were distributed among vulnerable communities, while 2000 latrine Kits provided to those returnees IDPs who have no adequate facilities in their houses.

Under the public health engineering component, about 142 water and sanitation schemes with other essentials solid waste collection points were constructed for IDPs of the selected union councils.