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More than 0.5m pregnant women in Pakistan desperately need care in flood-hit areas

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  • Over half million pregnant women in Pakistan need maternal care.
  • Countless girls at increased risk of gender-based violence.
  • Up to 73,000 women expected to deliver next month need birth care, and support.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a sexual and reproductive health agency, has highlighted the affliction of Pakistani women caused by the catastrophic floods, saying that over half a million pregnant women in the flood-hit areas are in dire need of maternal health services while many other are at an increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV).

At least 6.4 million people require humanitarian assistance after being hit by the floods triggered by the recent torrential monsoon rains and 1.6 million of them are women and girls.

“Up to 73,000 women expected to deliver next month will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support. In addition, many women and girls are at an increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV) as almost 1 million houses have been damaged,” a UNFP report stated.

The Agency said that pregnancies and childbirth can’t wait for emergencies or natural disasters to be over and it is a state when both the mother and baby are vulnerable and need the most care.

UNFP’s Pakistan Representative Dr Bakhtior Kadirov said the Agency is on ground, working with partners, to ensure that pregnant women and new mothers continue receiving life-saving services even under the most challenging conditions.

As per the report, over 1,000 health facilities have been partially or fully damaged in Sindh, whereas 198 health facilities are damaged in affected districts in Balochistan, compromising girls’ and women’s access to them.

Dr Kadirov said that the UNFPA will continue supporting health facilities with the equipment and human resources to be fully operational despite the challenges.

“UNFPA is scaling up its emergency response to provide life-saving reproductive health services and commodities, including dignity kits, for women and girls,” the report read.

Meanwhile, UNFPA Pakistan has already started the distribution of 8,311 dignity kits, 7,411 Newborn Baby Kits, and 6,412 Clean Delivery Kits for immediate delivery to Sindh, Balochistan, KP, and Punjab.

Moreover, it is also prioritising gender-based violence prevention and response services, including medical and psychosocial support to the GBV survivors.

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A 4.9-magnitude earthquake rattles Swat and surrounding areas.

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Late on Thursday night, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 shook the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the surrounding districts of Swat.

Fearfully, people emerged from their houses and began reciting passages from the Holy Quran. The earthquake did not cause any documented casualties or damage to property in any area in Swat.

The earthquake’s epicenter, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Islamabad, was situated 71 kilometers deep in the border region between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake that struck earlier in the day rocked several Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, and the Swat valley. In addition, Lower Dir, Malakand, and Muzaffarabad all experienced earthquakes.

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Pakistan

Sources claim that Babar was reappointed as the cricket team’s captain.

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Reappointing Babar Azam to lead the national squad upon the call of the newly-formed selection committee was decided by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday.

Sources claim that Babar will captain the Green Shirts in the upcoming five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand, which kicks off on April 20.

After the team’s crushing defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023, Shaheen Shah Afridi was chosen as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood was named the red-ball captain by the previous PCB administration.

The sources claimed that Babar’s appointment as captain was suggested by the selection committee. They said he will go to the Kakul training camp as captain.

Shaheen had chosen to step down, but his close friends urged him against it and to wait for the PCB’s decision, according to individuals close to him.

After guiding the team for four years, Babar resigned as captain of the national team in all formats in November of last year. After Pakistan’s poor performance in both the Asia Cup and the World Cup, where they were unable to advance to the semi-finals, he faced criticism for several months.

Although Babar was named Test and white-ball captain in 2020 and 2019, respectively, the side has neither won an Asia Cup nor an ICC championship while he has been captain.

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Food

Two children died after consuming apples treated with pesticide.

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 four more children were ill and at least two toddlers died in Abbottabad on Thursday after consuming apples treated with pesticide.

The specifics include that as the children were traveling home from their studies at the madrassa, they ate sprayed apples from a garden. As a result, six of the children’s conditions worsened, and they were sent to a local hospital right away.

Four children were in serious condition and two died in the hospital while receiving treatment. Five-year-old Fanan and seven-year-old Hina Shehzadi were named as the deceased.

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