In areas devastated by the record-breaking rains, more than 10 million people still do not have access to safe drinking water around six months after Pakistan experienced catastrophic floods.
According to a report released on Tuesday by UNICEF, families in flood-affected areas “have no choice but to consume and use potentially disease-ridden water.”
“Every day, millions of girls and boys in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable waterborne diseases and the consequential malnutrition,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan.
Due to a lot of rain, Pakistan experienced its worst floods in June. They afflicted 33 million individuals and claimed the lives of at least 1,739 people, including 647 children.
At their height, the floods—which Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, called “a monsoon on steroids”—covered more than one-third of the nation.
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The majority of the country’s population lacked access to clean drinking water even before the floods, according to a UNICEF assessment. More than 5.4 million people, including 2.5 million children, were left to “solely rely on contaminated water from ponds and wells” as a result of the disaster, which also damaged the majority of the water infrastructure in the impacted districts.
“Only 36 percent of the country’s water was considered safe for consumption despite the country’s drinking water supply system covering 92 percent of the population,” the report said.
The report highlighted the dire situation faced by families who live close to bodies of stagnant water formed after the flooding, making them vulnerable to waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dengue, and malaria. These diseases prevent children from getting the vital nutrients they need and plunge them into a “vicious cycle of malnutrition and infection”.
UNICEF said malnutrition is associated with half of all child deaths in Pakistan. More than 1.5 million boys and girls are already severely malnourished, it said, and those numbers are expected to rise in the absence of safe water and proper sanitation.
“Open defecation has increased by more than 14 percent in the flood-affected regions,” the report said. “The lack of proper toilets is disproportionally affecting children, adolescent girls, and women who are at added risk of shame and harm when defecating outdoors.”
The agency said less than half of its $173m appeal for aid has been met so far.
Pakistan was hit by financial losses of at least $30bn due to the floods. In January, the country managed to secure more than $10bn in pledges from the international community to rebuild itself.
But it is also in the midst of economic turmoil as it waits for $1.1bn from the International Monetary Fund.
“We need the continued support of our donors to provide safe water, build toilets and deliver vital sanitation services to these children and families who need them the most,” Fadil said.
Story adapted from Aljazeera
