UN tackles Hyderabad water contamination

The United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) is working out an assistance plan to tackle the issue of water contamination and a subsequent outbreak of gastroenteritis in and around the southern Pakistani city of Hyderabad, in Sindh province. More than 15 people have died while another 2,000 are reportedly suffering from stomach and skin problems caused by the contaminated water over the last two weeks. "The teams from WHO [World Health Organization] and [the UN children's agency] UNICEF are visiting the affected areas, interviewing people to collect and compile information on the nature and extent of the water-related health problems faced by the general population of the region", Khurram Masood, media officer of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), told IRIN in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday. Local authorities have denied any bacterial contamination. However, water experts had previously expressed doubts over the filtration and chlorination processes of the Hyderabad water supply systems. Some even expressed concerns that sewage might be contaminating drinking water due to the old and poor quality water supply pipes in the city. "Samples of the contaminated water from the nearby Manchar Lake and water supply plants have been taken and a detailed analysis of the town's water will be carried out so as to verify the nature and prevalence of microbiological and bacterial contamination", Masood said. The UNDMT will release its report on Wednesday, which will also include the nature of technical and health assistance to be made available immediately to the public and government institutions through donor coordination. The UN will also prepare a detailed technical review of the causes, effects and remedies for the problem within the next two weeks. "This will include proposals for long-term remedial measures within the water supply systems of Hyderabad and adjoining areas. It will also offer advice on how to build the capacity of the water treatment plants and sewerage systems," UN Resident Coordinator Onder Yucer said on Monday at a meeting attended by UN officials along with national and international NGOs and representatives of government bodies. The key findings of the review will also be shared with federal and provincial governments, the donor community and civil society organisations working in the areas of humanitarian relief and health.