On October 8, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit several South Asian countries including Pakistan, some parts of India and Afghanistan. The most affected region is situated at the foot of the Himalayas and scattered with thousands of villages, individual hamlets and isolated settlements, home to 4.5 million people. The area falls within the boundaries of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistan-Administrated Kashmir (AJK) and covers more than 28,000 square kilometres of high mountains, narrow valleys and fast flowing rivers.

The earthquake destroyed not only homes but also most hospitals, schools and government buildings. It knocked out communications and killed many of the government officials needed for an immediate response. Under normal circumstances access to these areas is difficult. Due to the earthquake huge landslides wiped out the few existing roads, making access even more difficult. Two months after the earthquake some affected areas are still inaccessible by road.

The Government of Pakistan puts the official death toll at more than 73,000, but some agencies estimate the actual figure to be even higher and climbing. Close to four million people were made homeless, out of whom about 2.2 million are children. Water supply networks in many areas have been completely destroyed and water sources contaminated. Sanitation facilities that existed in urban areas have simply vanished.

The immediate plan in response to the earthquake’s destruction is for 600,000 culturally sensitive latrines to be constructed to avoid the threat of diseases becoming more acute. The immediate priority is to restore access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities through supplying water, cleaning and disinfecting existing water sources, emergency repairs to partially damaged facilities, providing water and sanitation infrastructure, providing hygiene kits and other activities.