ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) emphasized that even a year after historic floods devastated Pakistan, millions of Pakistani children continued to require humanitarian assistance.
UNICEF said that despite a national state of emergency being declared in Pakistan and efforts for recovery and rehabilitation, the affected areas remained underfunded.
The statement mentioned that this year’s monsoon season had exacerbated the situation for flood-hit people and led to the unfortunate deaths of 87 children across the country.
UNICEF estimated that approximately eight million people, half of whom are children, still lack access to safe water.
Unicef’s appeal for funding, which amounts to US$173.5 million to provide life-saving support, was only 57 percent funded.
Abdullah Fadil, the Unicef Representative in Pakistan, was quoted as saying, “Vulnerable children living in flood-affected areas have endured a horrific year… Recovery efforts continue, but many remain unreached, and the children of Pakistan risk being forgotten.”
The disaster worsened existing inequities for families in the region, leading to issues such as children being out of school, malnutrition, and lack of access to safe drinking water.
Unicef and its partners have provided primary health care services to 3.6 million people, enabled safe water access for 1.7 million individuals, offered mental health and psychosocial support to over 545,000 children and caregivers, and supported education for more than 258,000 children.
Despite these efforts, the needs continue to surpass available resources.
Quoting Fadil, the press release urged the Pakistani government to invest in basic social services for families and build a climate-resilient system to address equity gaps and reduce vulnerability to climate shocks.
