ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is on the verge of a public health disaster after record flooding, the UN health agency warned on Tuesday as millions were falling ill due to the spread of waterborne diseases.
“The water has stopped rising, but the danger has not. We are on the verge of a public health disaster,” World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the launch of the United Nations flash appeal in Geneva.
The UN said it needs $816 million for rescue and relief in Pakistan, where the worst floods in the country’s history and subsequent infections have killed more than 2,000 people since mid-June.
The new appeal is significantly higher than the $160 million the UN sought in August.
The spread of diseases like cholera, malaria and dengue fever in the worst-hit region of Sindh has triggered fears of a second disaster. More than 350 people have died of infections so far.
Around half of the 33 million affected people still live in makeshift accommodation with little or no access to clean drinking water and toilets. “Many more lives than were lost in the floods could be lost in the coming weeks if we don’t mobilise greater support for Pakistan,” said the WHO chief.
The deluge has impacted 33 million people out of a population of 220 million, and caused damage the government estimates at $30 billion as crops, roads, livestock, bridges, houses, schools, and medical facilities were washed away.
The government and the United Nations have blamed climate change for the disaster.
— dpa
