ISLAMABAD: Following devastating floods in Pakistan, health facilities in affected areas are reporting alarming levels of severe severe malnutrition among children, UNICEF has warned.
According to a UNICEF statement, one in nine children under the age of five have been admitted to health facilities in flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
“In total, since September 2022, more than 22,000 children were screened by health professionals in health facilities in flood-affected areas, with more than 2,630 children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, or more than 1 in 9 children with severe acute malnutrition. Malnutrition, also known as severe wasting, is a life-threatening condition where children are too thin for their height, resulting in a weakened immune system,” the UN agency said.
Estimates based on pre-existing malnutrition from the latest National Nutrition Survey suggest that close to 1.6 million children in the flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces may be suffering from severe acute malnutrition and need immediate treatment. Malnourished pregnant women are also at risk of giving birth to low birth weight babies who will be malnourished.
UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, said: “We cannot sound this alarm louder.”
“We are facing a nutritional emergency that is endangering the lives of millions of children. Without immediate action, we are headed for a disastrous outcome that is endangering the development and survival of children. We Grateful for the support of the global community. Far, but much more needs to be done to save children’s lives.”
Even before the devastating floods, half of the children now living in flood-affected districts were already stunted – a degenerative condition that impairs children’s growth, physical and cognitive development. Similarly, more than 40 percent of the mothers were suffering from anemia. More than 25 million children and women across Pakistan, including more than 7 million children and women in flood-affected areas, need immediate access to essential nutritional services.
According to UNICEF, a lack of safe drinking water and sanitation increases the risk of wasting, as unsafe water can cause diarrhea and prevent children from getting the nutrients they need to survive. More than 5 million people no longer have safe drinking water sources and more than 6 million people no longer have home sanitation facilities.
As a result, the percentage of people who defecate in the open has increased from one-fifth before the flood to more than a third of the affected population.
At the same time, water-borne diseases are spreading rapidly among children and families and cases of acute watery diarrhea, malaria, dengue fever, skin conditions, respiratory infections and other diseases are also increasing rapidly.