Pakistan floods: 6.4 million urgently need assistance, WHO says as relief supplies arrive

Islamabad: More than 6.4 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid after the unprecedented catastrophic floods affected more than 33 million and killed nearly 1,200 people since mid-June.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its latest situation report said that “6.4+ million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 421,000 refugees”.

The global health agency also said that at least 888 health facilities were damaged in rain-induced floods and “access to health facilities, healthcare workers, and essential medicines and medical supplies remain the main health challenges for now.” Pakistan’s health system is already battling multiple health threats including COVID 19, and outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, measles, and HIV. WHO has donated emergency relief medicines worth over $250,000 to flood-affected areas in Sindh and Balochistan.

Of the 6.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, more than 1.6 million are women of childbearing age. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that nearly 650,000 pregnant women require maternal health services in the flood-affected regions and about 73,000 of them are expected to deliver in the coming month and will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support.

“Pregnancies and childbirth can’t wait for emergencies or natural disasters to be over. This is when a woman and baby are vulnerable and need the most care” says UNFPA Pakistan representative Dr Bakhtior Kadirov, adding that UNFPA is working with partners to ensure that pregnant women and new mothers continue receiving life-saving services.

On August 30, the UN and Pakistan government issued a flash appeal for $160 million to help flood victims. The funds will provide 5.2 million people with food, water, sanitation, education, and health support. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Pakistan on September 9 to express solidarity with the victims of the disastrous floods that have ruined lives, swept away roads and infrastructure, destroyed homes and crops, killed livestock, and wiped out livelihoods.

Dozens of international flights carrying life-saving emergency supplies and relief goods touched down in Islamabad and Karachi, strengthening the ongoing response to the devastating floods in the country. Pakistan has so far received flood relief goods through 21 flights mainly from UAE, Turkey, and China.

More planes loaded with humanitarian assistance arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 1. The UAE relief aid includes some 300,000 tonnes of food supplies, as well as tonnes of medical supplies, tents and shelter materials. China has dispatched large volumes of relief goods via four cargo planes and has pledged 100 million Yuan ($14.5 million) for relief assistance. Turkey has sent seven planeloads of flood relief including food, tents, and medical kits, and also sent humanitarian aid via two trains.

Pakistan Foreign Office says that countries and international organisations that have pledged support and are extending cash or in-kind assistance include Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, EU, France, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Qatar, ROK, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkiye, UAE, UK, US, Uzbekistan, along with World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other UN agencies.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had become ground zero for global warming. Pakistan has asked the international community, particularly those responsible for climate change, to step up and share the burden in the spirit of solidarity. Pakistani officials said that the country is currently in the relief phase and will require the continued support of the international community in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) region and announced a grant of Rs10 billion for flood-affected people in the province. The prime minister held a meeting of the party’s elected members o to review the ongoing relief activities in the flood-affected areas. The district administration of Swat in the KP province has evacuated some 648 tourists from remote areas so far and deployed food items, medicines, doctors and rescue teams in the flood-affected areas.

Pakistan’s army, navy, and air force have mobilised their personnel and assets for relief operations across the country, evacuating thousands of stranded people and delivering food and relief items to flood victims. “More than 50,000 people have been shifted to safer locations from the calamity-hit areas. Over 51,000 patients were treated and provided free medicines at various medical camps” the army said in its statement.