UNICEF asks for urgent help to save lives in Pakistan

By Special Correspondent

Islamabad: In its fresh appeal to the world, UNICEF has said it needs funds on urgent basis to save millions including Children and Women.

“Approximately 33 million people, including approximately 16 million children, have been affected by this year’s heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan, which have brought devastating rains, floods and landslides. Some major rivers breached their banks and dams have overflowed, destroying homes, farms and critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and public health facilities,” a press note issued by the UNICEF stated on Friday.

The torrential monsoon rains have triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history, washing away villages and leaving around 3.4 million children in need of assistance and at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, while many public health facilities, water systems and schools have been destroyed or damaged. Young children are living out in the open with their families, with no drinking water, no food, and no livelihood, exposed to a wide range of new flood-related risks and hazards, including from damaged buildings and drowning in floodwaters.

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“UNICEF is responding with the Government and partners, helping to deliver safe drinking water; lifesaving medical supplies; therapeutic food supplies; and hygiene kits to children and families. We are also establishing temporary learning centres and supporting the protection and psychosocial wellbeing of children affected by these devastating floods. But much more is needed to ensure we can reach all families displaced by floods and help them overcome this climate disaster,” the press note issued to media by the UNICEF revealed on Friday.

Thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed across the country due to the floods. After two years of pandemic school closures in the last few years, children once again risk further disruption to their learning, in areas where one-third of girls and boys were already out-of-school before the crisis. Meanwhile, cases of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases, respiratory infection, and skin diseases have already been reported.

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Many of the hardest-hit areas are amongst the most vulnerable in Pakistan, where children already suffer from high rates of malnutrition, and poor access to water and sanitation. Most of the affected districts have seen public health facilities damaged, medicines destroyed by the floods, and many health workers displaced from their homes. The risk of waterborne diseases is high, including cholera.

Climate-related crises will not affect everyone equally. Children will suffer more than adults, with those in the poorest communities bearing the biggest burden.