NEW YORK: A year after devastating monsoon floods hit Pakistan, for
which the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched one of its
largest operations, the agency reported it faces a shortfall of more
than USD 50 million to meet the continuing critical needs of the
country’s children.
The agency said it continues to provide
assistance to the victims of the floods that submerging almost
one-fifth of the country, disrupted the lives of some 20 million
people, claimed 2,000 lives and destroyed 1.6 million homes across the
provinces of Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.
UNICEF
said it had provided clean drinking water daily to 5.1 million people;
vaccinated 11.7 million children for polio and 10.4 million children
for measles; screened over two million children under five for
malnutrition; established temporary learning centres for almost 300,000
children; supported child-friendly spaces for close to 400,000
children; and provided 761,000 children with school supplies to allow
them to continue their education and recover more quickly from the
disaster.
“The impact of the floods will continue to be felt
for years to come, especially by children who are the most vulnerable
to the impacts of disaster,” the agency said. “When displaced children
and their families returned to their areas of origin, they found homes,
livelihoods, and infrastructure – including health facilities and
almost 10,000 schools – damaged or destroyed.”
“The floods also
exposed an existing tragedy of chronic malnutrition, unhealthy
sanitation practices, low primary school enrolment, especially for
girls, and child protection issues,” UNICEF said. “New and continued
assistance is required to ensure that flood-affected children and
families do not enter a downward spiral of increasing vulnerability.”
“If
children remain untreated for malnutrition, for example, they are more
susceptible to disease as well as life-long stunting and cognitive
impairment.”
According to the agency’s press statement, “UNICEF
faces a shortfall of almost USD 50 million to meet the critical early
recovery needs of flood-affected children and families. The major areas
of under-funding are in water, sanitation and hygiene, education, and
health.”
In addition, USD 6.2 million is needed for nutrition interventions due to the continued humanitarian levels of malnutrition. Online
