Pakistani scientists are ready to make a difference in their home lands after training for two months with U.S. Geological Survey scientists in Ohio, Michigan and Virginia.

Two determined scientists from the Pakistan Council on Research in Water Resources of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Hifza Rasheed and Kiran Anwaar, are leading efforts to improve the impaired water-quality conditions that plague the citizens of Pakistan.

“These remarkable women are using science effectively to advance the health and well-being of the people of Pakistan,” said Suzette Kimball, acting director of USGS. “Given the gravity of the situation, it is no exaggeration to say that their efforts contribute vitally to benefit the health of tens of thousands of people.”   

Rasheed, PCRWR deputy director, and  Anwaar, PCRWR science officer, are using science to fight the serious drinking water epidemic in Pakistan. PCRWR reports than 63 percent of Pakistan’s drinking water is contaminated with bacteria, causing 25,000 infant mortalities per year and more than 3 million water-borne diseases from 2001 to 2006. It attributes about 40 percent of these illnesses to improper disposal of solid waste. In the district of Ziarat, one of Pakistan’s holiest areas, 100 percent of drinking water was contaminated, according to Rasheed. These women scientists have witnessed the effects of water-borne illnesses firsthand by traveling throughout Pakistan to distribute water-testing and disinfection kits.

The USGS microbiology team selected the two dedicated women to receive training at USGS to help establish national, regional and local water quality labs in Pakistan. Here, the scientists acquired the tools necessary to understand the occurrence of the bacteria, viruses, and protozoa such as cryptosporidium, making Pakistanis sick. Rasheed and Anwaar have not only intensively studied bacteria, viral, and protozoan detection methods, but they have also discovered how to upgrade their water quality laboratories in Pakistan.

After traveling to the USGS offices in the three states, the scientists will educate others throughout Pakistan. “I want to impart what I have learned to my colleagues in Pakistan so we can all be on the same level,” said Rasheed, who is pregnant and thinks of the importance of water-quality health for the current and future generations of Pakistan.

The female scientists are seeking future opportunities for PCRWR and USGS to work together. Hepatitis is a virus of concern in Pakistan, and PCRWR scientists are interested in partnering with the United States to create a rapid and affordable detection method. The method could initially be developed in the United States and later shared with PCRWR scientists to test in Pakistan.

This training opportunity, and upcoming activities related to this project, receive financial support from the Biosecurity Engagement Program of the U.S Department of State.

PCRWR’s mission is to empower Pakistan to be sufficient in supplying quality drinking water for human consumption, livestock, wildlife, irrigation of agricultural crops and industrial use. PCRWR has an internationally accredited lab, which took more than four years to establish, an effort that Rasheed lead with support of other scientists at PCRWR.

USGS, which has had a collaborative relationship with PCRWR since 2004, is proud to continue the collaborative work with PCRWR. The partnership provides opportunities to apply scientific research to immediately better the health of the people and encourage sound science-based decision making regarding drinking water and sustainable integrated water-resources management in Pakistan.