According to the United Nations subsidiary UNICEF and Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), children living near polluted and stagnant water in flood-affected areas are getting sicker day by day. Both organizations have expressed their deep concern over the children trapped in the affected areas whose lives are at serious risk.
Even four months after the declaration of a national emergency, these innocent children have to suffer from waterborne diseases and most of them are dying of pneumonia. The number of severely malnourished children has doubled by 2021, and many of them are struggling between life and death. Children are in dire need of Rapid Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).
This bleak picture of children’s health in flood-affected areas reflects the poor performance of the government. PMA calls on the government to take immediate action to protect the lives of the people who need help in this critical situation.
According to UNICEF, respiratory diseases among children in flood-prone areas are on the rise, which is already a major cause of death among young children around the world. Moreover, the graph of malnutrition among children in flood-prone areas has doubled from July to December compared to 2021. Although the rain has stopped, the problems have not subsided.
Jacobabad, where the temperature even reaches the freezing point, and sheets and tents for the temporary shelters provided to people temporarily are woefully inadequate.
UNICEF further stated that it had made an urgent appeal for $173 million to help affected mothers and children in flood-affected areas. However, only 37 percent of the target had been met so far.