Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are critical to people’s health and well-being, and especially to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH). Almost 10% of the global burden of disease is attributable to unsafe WASH and women and children are most affected by the consequences of poor access to these services. Diarrhea disease, resulting from contaminated food and water sources, is a leading cause of child mortality and morbidity in Pakistan, and diarrhea is a major cause of malnutrition. MERF focuses on ensuring safe drinking water to meet basic needs, providing appropriate facilities for defecation and promote good hygiene practices through evidence based systematic approaches to enable people to take action to prevent and/or mitigate water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.
