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Islamic Relief’s Pakistan Floods Response 2022 (26 September, 2022)

Pays
Pakistan
Sources
Islamic Relief
Date de publication

Damages and destructions by floods in Pakistan has made the world think once again about how much they have been affecting the climate of the earth. The underdeveloped countries are facing worst effects of climate change. And Pakistan contributing less than 1% in the global carbon emissions, is the 8th worst affected. Rains breaking the record of last 3 decades and 7,000 glaciers melting in the north of country has contributed immensely in water level rising in dams and rivers resulting in devastating floods. Over 33 million people have been affected by the floods in 2 months and 116 districts have been affected with 84 of them declared as calamity hit.

Over two months of destruction has left millions of families without their livelihoods and villages swallowed by the floods. 1,638 people have died including 588 children and 12,865 injuries in these floods. Since the season started 2 million people have lost their homes and are now living under the open sky with no source of food and water, livestock dying and children on the verge of facing dangerous water bourne diseases. Over 1.1 million livestock animals have perished in the floods leaving people with nothing except hope to restart their lives. Estimates indicate that over 2,000 health facilities have been affected by the heavy rains and floods, and the Health Sector reports that access to health facilities, healthcare workers, and essential medicines and medical supplies remain limited. Early disease surveillance indicates that tens of thousands of people are affected by diarrhea, malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin and eye infections and typhoid.

Infrastructural damages are making difficulties for the rescue teams and humanitarian organizations to reach the affected areas and do their relief work. With 13,074 KM of roads partially or fully damaged and 392 bridges destroyed, limiting the aid delivery to those in need. The total loss so far that Pakistan has faced is expected be over $20 billion.

People are facing extreme difficulty in meeting their most essential needs as the inflation increases due to huge loss of standing crops and agricultural lands, resulting in depreciation of the economy. To get back to where Pakistan and these people were before these floods, could take months or even years. That is the amount of damage this country has received. More than 4.4 million acres of crops and orchards have been affected, with at least 304,000 acres in Balochistan, 438,000 acres in Punjab, and over 3 million acres in Sindh.

CEO IRW Waseem Ahmad and Country Director Islamic Relief Pakistan met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif and Federal Minister, Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal and ensured that Islamic Relief will keep helping the people until they are back on their feet.

United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres visited flood affected areas in Pakistan and met with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, discussing the situation of affected right now and how the international community can help with the relief work. Making sure that UN will stand with the people who have been affected, he said it is essential for the international community to start noticing the effects of climate change before it’s too late.