UN: Disease & starvation put Pakistan flood toll at risk
UN authorities cautioned on Wednesday that the water-borne illnesses and malnutrition affecting large areas of Pakistan in the wake of record monsoon floods pose a greater threat to human life than the initial inundation.
According to the most recent government statistics, Pakistan has been battered by extraordinary monsoon downpours that have flooded a third of the nation, an area the size of the United Kingdom, and killed close to 1,600 people.
More than seven million people have been forced to from their homes, and many of them are now living in improvised tents without mosquito nets and frequently without much access to clean drinking water or restrooms.
According to Julien Harneis, the UN’s coordinator for humanitarian affairs, hunger and diseases like dengue, malaria, cholera, and diarrhea are creating a “second calamity” in Pakistan.
At a press conference in the nation’s capital, Islamabad, he stated, “My personal concern is that mortality from the water-borne diseases, from hunger, will be worse than what we’ve seen so far”, “That’s a realistic, but sober understanding”.
The floods have impacted over 33 million people, wrecked almost 2 million houses and businesses, washed away 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles) of highways, and demolished 500 bridges.
Many areas of farmland, mostly in Sindh’s southern region, are still submerged.
Since the beginning of the year, dengue cases there have increased to over 6,000, with half occurring in just September. They are now approaching the total numbers for 2021.
But since the destruction is so extensive and continuous, and because some areas are still shut off, it is still too early to draw a complete picture of the disaster.
According to UNICEF field operations chief Scott Whoolery, 500 children died as a direct result of the floods: “Hundreds are not a concern. Regarding the health crisis, he remarked, we’re concerned about thousands. They won’t be tallied, so many of them we probably will never know”.
The UN now plans to increase that goal after receiving pledges that exceeded its initial campaign to garner $160 million for flood relief. Dealing with the current health crisis that is affecting the flood-affected communities is the first priority, according to Harneis.
UN: Disease & starvation put Pakistan flood toll at risk
Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on Pakistan this year, scorching the country in the spring with intense heat waves. Both occurrences have been connected by scientists to human-caused climate change. Less than 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to this country in South Asia, which is home to more than 220 million people.
On a list of countries, most at risk from climate change-related extreme weather, however, Pakistan comes at number eight.
