ISLAMABAD: The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors has approved USD 300 million in financing to expand access to safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene services for 1.5 million people in selected rural areas of Sindh.
The financing will support the Sindh Transformational Accelerated Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services Phase 1 Project (STAR WASH-1).
“Stunting is among Pakistan’s most severe and persistent human capital challenges, and unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are major underlying drivers. By expanding access to these services for 1.5 million people in rural Sindh, this project will help Sindh, this project will help address one of the root causes of child stunting,” said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.
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Unsafe water and poor sanitation cause repeated bouts of diarrhoea in young children, affecting nutrient absorption and limiting their physical and cognitive development. More than half of children under five in rural Sindh are stunted.
STAR WASH-1 will provide 1.5 million people with access to safe water and safely managed sanitation and hygiene services. The project will finance climate-resilient infrastructure, including solar-powered water supply systems and improved sanitation facilities.
It will also roll out an integrated social and behaviour change programme to promote better personal and environmental hygiene and support a shift from a focus on infrastructure development towards safe and sustainable rural WASH service delivery.
The project aims to halve water contamination at the point of use and connect 80 percent of targeted rural communities to a professional water and sanitation service provider.
The project is estimated to generate more than 14,000 jobs. It will also support the formalisation of the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees as a rural WASH utility company.
“Investing in safe water, sanitation and hygiene is more than building infrastructure – it is investing in human capital. By helping reduce child stunting, WASH investments contribute to a healthier, more productive future for the people of Sindh. STAR WASH-1 is designed to advance this goal by transforming rural water and sanitation services through climate-resilient, community-centred and financially sustainable systems,” said Bekele Debele Negewo, Lead Water Resources Management Specialist at the World Bank.
STAR WASH-1 is the first of a four-phase Pakistan Rural Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services Programme, to be implemented through a multi-phase programmatic approach over 10 years.
The project is closely aligned with the World Bank Group’s Water Forward initiative, which positions water security as a foundation for jobs, investment, economic growth, human development and resilience.
The total cost of STAR WASH-1 is USD 540 million, including USD 150 million from the Asian Development Bank under a recently agreed Full Mutual Reliance Framework and USD 90 million equivalent in counterpart funding from the Government of Sindh.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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