Pakistan

Children, women suffer from water-borne diseases as Pakistan floods recede

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

536 children among 1,508 killed.
Over 90,000 patients treated in a day.
Situation for families “beyond bleak”.

Children and women are becoming more vulnerable as tens of thousands of people suffer from infectious and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan, government data showed and UNICEF said on Friday, as the total death toll from the inundation surpassed 1,500.

As flood waters begin to drain away, which officials say may take two to six months in different areas, the flooded regions have become infested with diseases including malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, the southern Sindh provincial government said in a report issued on Friday.

It said more than 90,000 people were treated on Thursday alone in the province, which has been the hardest hit by the cataclysmic floods.

The report confirmed 588 malaria cases with another 10,604 suspected cases, in addition to the 17,977 diarrhoea and 20,064 skin disease cases reported on Thursday. A total of 2.3 million patients have been treated since July 1 in the field and mobile hospitals set up in the flooded region.

A man rides a boat past toll plaza amid flood water on main Indus highway, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan September 15, 2022. — Reuters

Record monsoon rains in south and southwest Pakistan and glacial melt in northern areas triggered the flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion.

The National Disaster Management Authority has reported 1,508 deaths, including 536 children and 308 women.

Hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced are in dire need of support in term of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets, and medicines.

Many have been sleeping in the open by the side of elevated highways.

“I have been in flood-affected areas for the past two days. The situation for families is beyond bleak, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, after visiting the flooded areas.

“All of us on the ground see malnourished children battling diarrhoea and malaria, dengue fever, and many with painful skin conditions,” he said in a statement.

He said a lot of the mothers were anaemic and malnourished themselves, and with very low-weight babies, being exhausted or ill and unable to breastfeed.

Millions of families are now living with little more than rags to protect themselves from the scorching sun as temperatures in some areas pass 40 degrees Celsius, Fadil said.

The torrential monsoon, which submerged huge swathes of Pakistan, was a one in a hundred-year event likely made more intense by climate change, scientists said on Thursday.

Latest News

Saad Rafiq: Ali Amin Gandapur’s threat to storm Islamabad is a major issue.

Published

14 hours ago

Farwa

Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has threatened to storm Islamabad, according to Khawaja Saad Rafique, a former minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This is a very serious situation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration has reportedly launched attacks on the federal capital in the past in an attempt to seize Islamabad, according to Saad Rafiq on the social media platform X (previously Twitter).

“However, PTI got nothing and it resulted in creating chaos, hatred and economic destruction,” he continued.

He added, “If the anarchists attack Islamabad to occupy it this time too, it will become impossible for them to return as rulers.”

According to the leader of the PML-N, fascist behavior will no longer be accepted, and the dirty politics of violence, fire, and ransacking will no longer be effective.

The PTI, he said, has to act rationally and refrain from inciting another May 9.

Latest News

IHC will consider a case today challenging the election of the Senate chairman and deputy

Published

14 hours ago

Farwa

Today is the scheduled hearing for the suit seeking action against the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate election violations before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The case against the violation of the custodians of the Senate election will be heard by Justice Aamer Farooq of IHC.

The April 9th Senate election, which was held in violation of Article 60 of the Constitution, was highlighted in the petition.

According to the plea, it was alarming that the poll Commission had decided to postpone the Senate poll till after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

On the grounds of constitutional violations, a petition was filed to declare the April 9 Senate election, which included the chairman and deputy chairman, illegal.

Relevantly, Ishba Kamran, a resident of Sargodha, has also filed a motion in court to initiate Article 6 proceedings.

Latest News

The first Air Ambulance Service training session in Pakistan begins.

Published

14 hours ago

Farwa

The first training session for the Air Ambulance Service of Pakistan has commenced.

A unique meeting was conducted to assess the service’s advancement, overseen by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

Aside from the Punjab chief secretary, secretary of finance, and director general of rescue services, other officials in attendance included provincial information minister Azma Bukhari.

The announcement that the first Air Ambulance Service training session had begun was made at the briefing.

CM Maryam Nawaz announced her resolve to grow the service’s operations while highlighting the initiative’s importance.

Her commitment to utilizing all provincial resources for the welfare and improvement of the public was reaffirmed as she emphasized its vital role in responding to crises and accidents in remote places.

The air ambulance service will be deployed in emergency situations and made available to other provinces as needed, she said, emphasizing the importance of protecting human life.