Local Pakistani charity Integrated Regional Support Programme (IRSP), improving sanitation and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) access and education in one of the most remote regions of the country, will be named Runner Up for WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) in Asia-Pacific in the 2014 Stars Impact Awards.

IRSP will receive the award at Kensington Palace in London on Saturday 13 December, where President Bill Clinton will also be attending.

Over half the population of Pakistan do not have access to safe drinking water and more than 40,000 children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

Addressing the lack of water and sanitation facilities is the most effective way of tackling poverty, promoting economic development and achieving gender equality in the country.

IRSP works to empower and bring development to local communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Southern Punjab.

The local organisation improves access for vulnerable people to safe drinking water and sanitation through household water treatment and solid waste management systems.