Formulation of WatSan policies in Pakistan

This paper describes the process of formulation of National Drinking Water and Sanitation Policies in Pakistan. The process, which was led by the Ministry of Environment and supported by UNICEF, involved evidence based advocacy for policy development; preparation of a working paper; development of background papers for stakeholder consultation; preparation of provincial papers on the basis of stakeholders’ workshops; development of draft policies on the basis of provincial papers; circulation of the draft policies among relevant federal ministries, provincial departments and other stakeholders; and finalization in light of stakeholders’ comments. The National Sanitation Policy has been approved by the Federal Cabinet and is currently under implementation. The Drinking Water Policy, however, is still in the draft form due to delays mainly attributable to fragmentation of the responsibility of water resource conservation, management and control across several Ministries and line departments.