Covid-19 urban slum response programme launched.

ISLAMABAD -- Considering the seriousness of the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister's Adviser on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Monday launched the pilot phase of 'Pakistan Covid-19 Urban Slums Response Programme'.

'The pilot initiative aims at preventing the spread of Covid-19 in urban slums as well as empowering local communities to mitigate its economic impact,' Mr Aslam said at the launching ceremony held at the Ministry of Climate Change.

He thanked UN-Habitat and other development partners for providing support with the launch of the initiative.

The pilot phase of the initiative is being implemented in Dhok Hassu and Dhok Mangtal slum areas of Rawalpindi.

Mr Aslam said the living conditions in slums were quite unhealthy and 40pc of the dwellers lived in one room and another 40pc in two rooms. He said a single toilet facility was being used by 7-10 people.Besides prevention measures towards Covid-19, the proposed interventions will also create income generating opportunities, he added.

The adviser suggested that in addition to the stitching of masks and gloves by women in the community if they also stitched cloth bags, the ministry can buy back from them to create more employment opportunities.

He said based on the interventions and lessons learnt a full-scale project will be developed by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with partners.

The ministry will raise funding through the National Disaster Risk Management Fund and other donor agencies for expanding the programme...