Sindh: A Province Trapped in Climate Extremes

Only months after one of the deadliest floods that displaced and affected nearly 6.9 million people across Pakistan, the nation’s interior, particularly Sindh province, is now facing the opposite extreme: a severe drought and an alarming water shortage. 

In Sindh, the shortage of safe drinking water has become a way of life. Overall, while 90% of Sindh’s population has access to an improved drinking water source, only 24% benefit from safely managed drinking water services. As groundwater turns saline, crops wither and livelihoods collapse. In Thatta and other rural communities, families face a daily struggle for water that is not only scarce but also often unsafe to drink, leaving lasting impacts on their health.

Bringing Safe Water to Ramzan Babar 

In the village of Ramzan Babar, the community feels exposed to health risks as the water they usually use is hard, contaminated, and unsafe to drink, and health facilities are remote or nonexistent. In September, Action Against Hunger teams have been distributing clean drinking water and hygiene kits to improve the community’s overall health and hygiene practices. 

Seema, 21 years old and a mother of two, also serves as a member of Action Against Hunger’s local disaster-response team. Seema, who studied up to the eighth grade, is regarded as one of the most educated women in her village, a reflection of the low literacy and limited educational opportunities in the area. She suffers from kidney stones, which doctors attribute to years of consuming hard, contaminated water. Despite her health struggles, Seema remains determined to protect others in her community and her own children from the dangers of unsafe drinking water. Through Action Against Hunger’s hygiene-kit distribution, she received soap, water storage containers, and a range of essential daily items to help ensure a safe, hygienic environment for herself and her children.

In her village, it is common for every household to have a large collection of colorful pillows, often numbering 30 to 40. Each pillow is carefully filled and adorned with delicate, hand-embroidered designs that reflect Sindh’s rich cultural heritage. 

Today, Seema actively raises awareness in her village about maternal and child health, hygiene, and immunization, striving to protect not only her own family but also her entire community. “We can get food on credit, but not water. I do not want my children exposed to contaminated water. I suffer from kidney stones, but I don’t want anyone else to go through the same”. 

Drought and Heatwave Emergency Response  

Kaz Bano, a mother with three daughters and a paralyzed son, relies on a small herd of goats and buffalo for her livelihood. The extreme drought had made fodder supply erratic, putting her livestock and her income at risk. This changed when Action Against Hunger began distributing fodder as part of its Drought and Heatwave Response in Sindh Province in 2025. 

With a regular supply of fodder, her animals are now healthier and produce more milk, which she sells and uses to feed her family. This support has provided a vital source of income, helping her meet her household’s nutritional needs. Her experience illustrates the critical link between access to clean water, food security, livelihoods, nutrition, and hygiene. 

Approximately five kilometers apart, in Ismail Sheikh village, children had long suffered from frequent skin diseases and rashes, which were commonly attributed to a combination of contaminated water and exposure to the harsh sun. The village has since benefited from Action Against Hunger’s clean drinking water interventions. With the arrival of safe water and hygiene awareness programs, residents received water drum rollers, hygiene and kitchen kits, and attended educational sessions to improve health and sanitation practices. Children now fill containers directly from the water tanker, and villagers note that they no longer have to walk long distances or rely on unsafe well water. 

Today, many families still depend on unsafe groundwater, and environmental pressures such as rising salinity, declining aquifers, and erratic rainfall continue to threaten. However, villages such as Ramzan Babar and Ismail Sheikh have transformed from symbols of deprivation into examples of resilience and determination. The experiences of Seema and Kaz Bano highlight not dependency but progress and demonstrate that when water, food, health, and livelihood interventions are integrated, they can generate lasting, meaningful change.

Action Against Hunger’s ongoing interventions in Thatta district have already transformed lives across 15 villages, reaching 1,376 households and more than 7,000 individuals with over 1.3 million liters of clean drinking water. Alongside this, the distribution of hygiene kits and awareness sessions has empowered families to adopt safer water, sanitation, and hygiene practices, crucial steps that go beyond immediate relief to strengthen long-term health and nutrition outcomes. 

* Drought and Heatwave Response in Sindh Province is supported by the STARR Foundation.