Pakistan: Six months on, flood survivors still struggle
Six months on from Pakistan’s devastating floods, high rates of malnutrition pose an ongoing danger to the country’s children, says World Vision.
“This is not a new problem for the rural poor in Pakistan,” said World Vision UK Chief Executive Justin Byworth, from Pakistan this week.
“Malnutrition rates were high before the floods, but by wiping out harvests and washing away homes and sources of livelihoods, the floodwaters have left the poorest and most vulnerable families in real danger.”
"In some areas of Sindh, southern Pakistan, for example, malnutrition rates are as high as 23% among children under the age of five", says Byworth.
“I met a mother and her one-year-old son, Daim, at a mobile health post World Vision has set up. He was so severely malnourished, very distressed, and crying without ceasing. Daim is one of six children in a very poor family that trekked 20 kilometers to escape the floods and then back again just a few weeks ago. This was among the worst malnutrition I’ve seen in any country in more than 20 years with World Vision – I know I will never forget the haunting look on Daim’s face, nor the anguish on his mother’s.”
Flood response
Since the floods first hit six months ago, World Vision has reached more than 900,000 people with food, shelter, clean water, medical assistance, sanitation, relief supplies and other support in Khyber Pakhktunkhwa (KPK), Punjab and Sindh provinces.
“With an estimated 70% of the population living on less than US$2 a day, facing a reduced food supply, increasing transport costs and rising inflation, we all face a real challenge to tackle the underlying poverty that so many are faced with,” says Byworth.
“We still have a daunting task ahead to protect the health, protection and safety needs of vulnerable groups such as children and women."
World Vision is particularly concerned about conditions for Pakistan’s women and children, up to one in five of whom are not formally registered, making it almost impossible for them to access healthcare, education and other basic services.
"Resilient people"
Unprecedented monsoon rains during July and August last year triggered Pakistan’s worst-ever floods, submerging an area the size of the United Kingdom. More than 20 million people were affected, according to the Pakistani government.
Six months on, the water has receded in most areas, but many people are returning home to destroyed houses, ruined crops and washed-away livestock.
“The people of Pakistan, despite being confronted by so many challenges, are resilient and we remain dedicated to continuing to reach them and meet their needs,” said Byworth.
Flood response highlights:
- 374,500 people received emergency food.
- Almost 250,000 people received relief items including tents, shelter kits, hygiene supplies, bed sheets, blankets, buckets, mosquito nets and mats.
- More than 16,000 children had access to and benefitted from 21 Child-Friendly Spaces.
- At least 130,000 people received medical treatment through basic health units and nutritional services.
- 220,500 people benefitted from water, sanitation and hygiene interventions including construction of latrines, bathing places, washing places, installation of water tanks, hand pumps, distribution of water purification tablets.
- Almost 42,000 people received wheat seed, replanting kits, plants, or participated in cash-for-work schemes to rehabilitate damaged irrigation channels.
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