In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, a new form of ATM will soon be dispensing a daily allowance of clean water to the people of Bahawalpur, Rajanpur and Faisalabad: all areas with serious water contamination issues.
The collaboration between Panjab Saaf Pani (Clean Water) and Innovations for Poverty Alleviation Lab (IPAL) will aid the government’s target of providing clean drinking water to 35 million people by 2017.
Currently only 13% of people have access to tap water, and sanitation-related diseases are estimated to cost Pakistan’s economy US$1.1 billion a year. The initial project will involve the installation of 20 machines that will supply water to more than 17,500 families. Each family will have a unique identity card that allows them access to 30 litres of guaranteed clean water per day, and will each contribute a small fee to a community fund to the filtration plants and the vending machines.
The machines will also allow the government to monitor the amount of water being dispensed in each location in real-time will be gathered through a central server.
