ASSESSING DISPARITIES IN WASH INDICATORS: A PROVINCIAL COMPARISON USING MULTIPLE INDICATOR CLUSTER SURVEYS (MICS6) REGIONAL/AREA DATA

Abstract

Pakistan has though made strides towards Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), access to safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services continues to be a significant public health and development issue. This study aims to compare and analyse the WASH indicators in the context of equity for WASH indicators in Pakistan with special focus on Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) based on the regional/areas’ Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS6) data in line with the WHO & UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) framework using a quantitative, descriptive and comparative approach to examine the disparities in access to improved water sources, sanitation facilities, hand-washing facilities and safely managed services in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, AJ&K and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). The results show significant disparities between regions and between rural and urban areas in all WASH dimensions. Punjab demonstrates good performance in terms of water access and hygiene facilities, while KP shows relatively balanced results. Persistent poverty, poor infrastructure and governance issues are associated with Sindh and Balochistan. One important observation is the “dual paradox” in AJ&K, where access to improved water sources is low, while access to sanitation is very high and to safely managed services is also very high, indicating the need for localized governance and community-based systems. The study finds that WASH inequality in Pakistan is multidimensional and is influenced by geography, socioeconomic status, governance capacity and rurality. To reach SDG 6, the focus needs to move beyond infrastructure expansion to more equity-driven, governance-sensitive, and region-specific WASH interventions, especially in rural and hard-to-reach places.