Epidemic outbreak among flood hit children
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that winter will
worsen the threats of epidemic against children inhabited in flood hit
areas, who already suffer high rates of acute respiratory infections and
malnutrition.
"The coming cold months will sharply increase the numbers of
respiratory infections and malnutrition, two of the biggest killers of
Pakistani children", UNICEF's Regional Director for South Asia Daniel
Toole said while talking to APP on Monday.
“The coming cold months will sharply increase the numbers of
respiratory infections and malnutrition, two of the biggest
killers of Pakistani children”, UNICEF’s Regional Director for
South Asia Daniel Toole said. Reuters |
He informed that as many as 126 new polio cases are reported this
year compared to 89 in 2009 an enormous cause for concern especially as
it had made significant strides towards eradicating polio.
Daniel Toole said that Pakistan is one of the four polio endemic
countries in the world. Low ongoing coverage in areas experiencing
difficult security, over-crowding and poor sanitation as a result of
floods have exacerbated threat for children.
"This crisis is far from over. It has just evolved in very different
ways from one part of Pakistan to the next and the humanitarian effort
has had to adapt swiftly to reach children and women most in need as
their needs change," Daniel Toole said.
"Although most people have returned to their home areas, many have
returned to near total destruction with no homes, no crops, no food and
no cash", he added.
The regional director said that in Northern areas, snow has fallen
and they are delivering winter clothes and supplies to help families
prepare for a harsh winter, while in the South slow receding waters have
meant over a million lives are still on hold.
Since the early stages of the floods, UNICEF has been providing clean
water to an unprecedented 2.8 million people daily, and sanitation
facilities to more than 1.5 million people, he said adding, UNICEF has
partnered with World Health Organization and the Government to immunize
more than nine million children against measles and polio.
In preparation for winter, he said, UNICEF has started to distribute
warm children's clothing and blankets.
However, millions of families still need assistance in the form of
water, medicine and nutritional supplements to survive the coming
months, especially those living in the north of the country as harsh
winter conditions approach.
UNICEF needs $82.1 million if it is to continue with its life-saving
and recovery programs in the country, he said adding, to expand urgently
needed support to improve widespread malnutrition and to stop polio
spreading, additional urgent funds are required for continued needs in
20
11.
"The scale of this remains massive. The impact of the floods in
Pakistan will be felt for years to come, so the more we can do now the
quicker children and families will recover, and that means urgently
needed funds to do our job better," Toole said.
Dawn |