Nearly a month after Pakistan suffered the worst floods in its recent history, UN agencies have warned that the humanitarian situation remains complex in a country where nearly 8 million people remain out of their homes.
Aerial view of a waterlogged area in Jiber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. - UNICEF/ASAD ZAIDI
More than 1,500 people died in the storm, including more than 550 children. "If support does not increase significantly, we fear that many more will lose their lives," said Gerida Birukila, head of operations of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Balochistan.
More than 30 million people were affected in some way by the floods, which to this day still have large areas flooded by water and damaged or washed away infrastructure, especially in the province of Sindh. Birukila has warned that in some parts "families have no food, clean water or medicine".
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"The lack of food means that many mothers are now anemic and malnourished, and have underweight babies," she added.
A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Babar Baloch, agreed that "the situation remains complicated" in Pakistan, where authorities and humanitarian agencies have embarked on a "race against time" to try to avoid new deaths, for example due to outbreaks of new diseases.
Pakistan faces a "colossal challenge," said Baloch, who appealed for help from the international community. "UNHCR reiterates its call for more support for this country and its citizens," he added.
For her part, the head of UNICEF believes that "the world must unite and help the children of Pakistan". However, she recalled that of the 39 million dollars (38.9 million euros) requested, the agency has so far covered less than a third.
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