ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative to Pakistan, Dr. Bakhtior Kadirov, said on Wednesday that the world needs to “act immediately” to prevent excessive deaths in Pakistan, where floods triggered by unusually heavy rains have killed over 1,100 people and affected around 33 million since mid-June.
Torrential rains in Pakistan have triggered flash floods that have caused 1,191 casualties, which include over 350 children, destroyed thousands of homes, large areas for crops and displaced hundreds of thousands since June.
The catastrophe has made it difficult for people affected by the floods to access healthcare facilities. Kadirov said nearly 650,000 pregnant women require maternal health services in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas, adding that about 73,000 of them are expected to deliver in the coming month and will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support.
“It is essential to act immediately with appropriate actions to prevent the potential consequences [of the floods] including excessive deaths, illness, the outbreak of communicable diseases and cases of gender-based violence,” Kadirov told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Earlier this week, Pakistan and the UN made a flash appeal for $160 million in assistance to deal with the floods. Kadirov said aid pledged to mitigate heavy losses suffered by Pakistan will be available in a few days.
An assessment found that 86 percent of the flood-affected population are concerned about the availability and provision of healthcare services, the UNFPA Pakistan chief said, adding that this is because floods have damaged numerous healthcare facilities.
“Two hundred and forty-four health facilities have been damaged in Balochistan and more than 500 health facilities have been damaged in Sindh as well,” Kadirov said, adding that damaged roads and bridges were making it difficult for the flood-affected population to access essential healthcare services.
The UNFPA Pakistan head said damaged roads and infrastructure were also making it difficult to supply essential medicines in flood-ravaged areas.
“Evidence showed that women, girls, and children bear the brunt of natural disasters, as more than 8 million women of reproductive age and above 1.4 million below the age of 14 years were affected by monsoon rains, floods, and landslides,” he added.
Speaking about the importance of aid money reaching flood victims, Kadirov said it is essential at this stage to secure resources. He added that the initial days of the catastrophe are crucial to prevent communicable diseases from spreading further.
He warned if immediate and proper actions are not taken at this stage, Pakistan will have to pay a higher cost. Kadirov said the UNFPA has already started to implement a series of crucial actions to prevent maternal illness, disability, death and cases of gender-based violence. “We have so far distributed 23,000 clean delivery kits, newborn baby kits, and dignity kits,” he said.
He said the UN agency’s mobile health units were providing basic emergency and neonatal healthcare services in Pakistan, including the prevention of pregnancy and childbirth complications.
The UNFPA Pakistan chief estimated it may take five years or more to rebuild and rehabilitate infrastructure, facilities, bridges, and roads damaged by the floods, adding that they are all essential for healthcare and other social services.
“The main focus of our new country program is on resilience building. So, we will be investing in building community and institutional resilience, so that they can be resilient in the face of future disasters of such scale,” Kadirov said.
He added that the UN agency would also support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Pakistan’s health sector.
“We have a team of a competent cohort of psychological support specialists who can be deployed now to provide psychological support to flood-affected communities, especially women and girls,” he added.
