4 mn children living near contaminated floodwater in Pakistan: UNICEF

Up to four million children are still living near contaminated and stagnant floodwaters in Pakistan, risking their survival and well-being according to UNICEF, more than four months after a national state of emergency was declared in Pakistan, the Dawn reported.

Many families in Jacobabad have little more than mere cloth to cover their temporary shelters by stagnant flood waters while temperatures have dropped to seven-degree celsius at night. UNICEF and partners have started providing items, including children's kits, and jackets to people living in mountainous areas, aiming to reach 200,000 children, women and men, as per the Dawn report.

The children continue to live near contaminated water more than four months after a national state of emergency was declared in Pakistan. Acute respiratory infections have been witnessed among children, a leading cause of child mortality worldwide have increased in the flood-affected regions, according to Dawn.

The number of cases among children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the flood-stricken regions monitored by UNICEF nearly doubled between July to December in comparison to 2021 and estimated 1.5 million children are still in need of life-saving nutrition interventions. UNICEF's current appeal of USD 173.5 million to provide life-saving support to women and children impacted by the flood remains only 34 per cent funded, as per the Dawn report."Children living in Pakistan's flood-affected areas have been pushed to the brink," Dawn quoted UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil as saying.

"Severe acute malnutrition, respiratory and waterborne diseases, coupled with the cold, are putting millions of young lives at risk," he added.

UNICEF's health interventions have reached nearly 1.5 million people with primary healthcare services. Furthermore, 4.5 million children have been immunised against polio in 16 flood-hit districts.

The UN agency and its partners have given more than one million people access to safe drinking water and provided hygiene kits to one million people. UNICEF will continue to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in the coming months.

On January 9, Pakistan received more than USD 9 billion to help it recover from devastating floods at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, Dawn reported.

The international conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan was co-hosted by the United Nations and the Pakistani government in Geneva. During the conference, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the international community to support Pakistan in rebuilding after devastating floods last year.