ISLAMABAD (PEN) : In Pakistan’s hottest city, Jacobabad, where temperatures can exceed 50°C (122°F), the provision of fresh and clean water has become an essential safeguard against the deadly impacts of climate change. But now, a freeze on U.S. foreign aid under former President Donald Trump is threatening the future of a critical water project, leaving residents fearing the worst.
Jacobabad, a city notorious for its scorching heat, is already grappling with the escalating consequences of climate change. Heatwaves are intensifying, causing widespread dehydration, heatstroke, and other life-threatening health problems. For a city that frequently reaches extreme temperatures, access to filtered water is more than a necessity—it is a lifeline.
In 2012, USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) committed a $66 million grant to improve municipal services in the Sindh province, which included funding to renovate a plant designed to pump and purify water from a canal 22 kilometers away. The project was intended to provide vital water to over 350,000 people in Jacobabad. However, according to the non-profit HANDS, which manages the project, a $1.5 million portion of the funding has been blocked due to Trump’s freeze on foreign aid. This has placed the entire water supply system in jeopardy, with the NGO warning that the project could collapse “within a few months.”
“This project has transformed our lives,” says 25-year-old Tufail Ahmed, who lives in Jacobabad. “If the water supply is cut off, survival will be challenging, as water is the most essential thing for life.”
The situation is becoming increasingly dire. Between September and January, rainfall in Sindh was 52% below average, leading to a predicted “moderate drought.” As temperatures climb, the effects of climate change are felt more sharply, and heatwaves in Jacobabad are becoming longer, hotter, and more frequent.
The water supply project, which pipes in 1.5 million gallons (5.7 million liters) of water daily, serves as a vital source of clean water for residents. Without this project, people would have no choice but to rely on expensive private water vendors who charge exorbitant prices for water drawn from unreliable and often contaminated sources, sometimes containing arsenic.
HANDS, the organization managing the water scheme, said it was blindsided by Trump’s 90-day freeze on foreign assistance, learning of the cuts only through media reports. The freeze has left HANDS unable to fund vital operations, forcing the NGO to withdraw staff and halt services for the project. Forty-seven workers, including technical experts who oversee the purification process and maintain the infrastructure, have been sent home. HANDS CEO Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed warned that unless new funding is secured soon, the system could shut down, marking the water scheme as a “total failure.”
“Since everything is just suspended, we have to withdraw our staff and halt all services,” said Ahmed. “If this project fails, it will severely impact our people, especially in a city like Jacobabad where poverty is already widespread and alternatives are unaffordable.”
The local government, which now oversees the project, lacks the technical expertise needed to maintain the water system or the capacity to generate revenue through bill payments, which HANDS had been developing as a long-term funding solution.
Local activists like Abdul Ghani, a 47-year-old social worker, have made desperate appeals for the project to continue. “If the supply is cut off, it will severely affect the public,” he said. “We cannot afford alternatives here. The poorest people will suffer the most.”
For residents like 55-year-old Sadruddin Lashari, who remembers the days before the water system was in place, the loss of the supply would be devastating. “The dirty water we used to buy was harmful to our health. Getting sick from it would cost us even more,” he said. “Now the water is clean. The supply cannot be stopped.”
The water project is just one example of how climate change is exacerbating the hardships of people in Pakistan. Despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is ranked as the country most affected by climate change, according to the Germanwatch Climate Risk Index. The country has suffered catastrophic floods and intense heatwaves, resulting in widespread displacement, death, and destruction. In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of the country, killing over 1,700 people and causing nearly $15 billion in damages.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on the wealthier, more industrialized nations, responsible for the lion’s share of global emissions, to contribute to the global effort to help vulnerable populations suffering from the immediate impacts of climate change. As Jacobabad’s residents brace for yet another scorching summer, the ongoing battle for water remains a stark reminder of the dire need for global cooperation in the face of climate catastrophe.
“It’s incredibly hot here year-round,” says Lashari. “We need water constantly, and we need help to keep this supply going.” With every passing day, Jacobabad’s future without a steady, clean water supply looks more uncertain, leaving the city’s most vulnerable residents facing an unbearable challenge: survival in a rapidly changing, increasingly inhospitable world.
