As the nation is riveted by the constitutional drama unfolding, those affected by the floods in Pakistan live a life of misery.
Over 10 million do not have clean drinking water. Waterborne diseases are leading to deaths. Malaria and cholera are the most common diseases spreading. Lack of food is creating malnutrition. The number of deaths recorded approximately were 1,739 people, not including subsequent deaths due to inhuman conditions.
Most people did not have access to clean drinking water pre-floods, and the floods damaged badly the water systems available. ‘Families living in flood-affected areas have ‘no alternative but to drink and use potentially disease-ridden water’, UNICEF says.’ (Al-Jazeera)
UNICEF Pakistan in a tweet dated March 20, 2023 says,” 6 months after the floods ravaged Pakistan, 9.6 million children still need lifesaving support. We need the continued support of our donors to provide safe drinking water, build toilets and deliver vital sanitation services to these children and families who need them the most.”
According to the donor agency less than half of need for relief has so far been met.The efforts need to be two-fold. First to address the immediate issues at hand and second to reconstruct all infrastructures destroyed, in order to avoid a compounding negative economic cascading effect on the people hit.
According to Brookings Institute the cost of restructuring alone stands at $16.3 billion. The report states it includes ‘Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF) are the revival of livelihoods and agriculture, the rebuilding of private housing, and the reconstruction of public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.’
The affected population lack food, clothes, basic amenities and a roof over their heads. There is lack of basic medicines to save lives like antipyretic tablets to control spiking fever. There is wide spread malnutrition, lethargy, weakness not only among adults but also among children.
Eid anyone?
The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9
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Disclaimer: Miseries of flood affected in Pakistan continue - Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Latheefarook.com point-of-view