PAKISTAN: 3.5 MILLION CHILDREN AT RISK OF DEADLY DISEASES

(New York / Geneva / Islamabad: 16 August 2010): As many as three and a half million children in flood-ravaged Pakistan may be at risk of contracting deadly diseases carried through contaminated water and insects, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"As in any disaster situation, children are among the most vulnerable", said Martin Mogwanja, Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, "We cannot allow this catastrophe to inflict such a heavy toll on our next generation".

The greatest threats to public health in Pakistan at the current time are certainly from waterborne diseases, which can intensify in precarious hygiene conditions, and when people have limited or poor access to safe water and sanitation services. Diseases like cholera or acute watery diarrhoea, dysentery or bloody diarrhoea, typhoid fever and hepatitis, can all cause excess mortality and morbidity amongst the susceptible populations in the flood-hit areas. There is also an increased risk of malaria and dengue fever, since the stagnant water may provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes - the vector that is responsible for transmission.

"We are still in the process of collecting data, and we can say that the incidence of cases caused by these diseases is increasing, especially among children", said Dr. Guido Sabatinelli, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Pakistan. "The lack of clean water and the unavailability of medication, in the aftermath of these floods, is a deadly combination. When added to the poor living conditions and the lack of food, which contribute to vulnerability, the picture is alarming".

As a contingency measure, WHO is preparing to assist the Government in responding to prevent any major outbreaks from infectious diseases. Given the very fragile health situation and unpredictability of the developments over the next three months, up to 1.5 million cases of diarrheal diseases (including up to 140,000 of cholera), up to 150,000 cases of measles, up to 350,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, and up to 100,000 cases of malaria can occur in the worst-case scenario. "The contingency plans to react in such circumstances are in place, but we don't have enough funding to meet the immense needs", said Dr. Sabatinelli.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners plan to provide clean water to six million people in flood-torn Pakistan. "Until now, we have been reaching one million people per day", said Omar El-Hattab, chief of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Section at UNICEF in Islamabad, "but more funds are urgently required in order to reach all those in need".

"If we don't act fast enough, we will soon see a serious wave of death", said Dr. Sabatinelli, "and the toll will be many times higher than that caused by the actual floods". An estimated 1,400 people have died in the floods, according to Government figures.

In the context of the Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan (PIFERP), through which the United Nations and its partners plan to complement national relief efforts led by the Government on the immediate short term, US$ 56 million is initially required for health activities, out of which only $ 7 million has been received so far. Activities for water, sanitation and hygiene totalled an initial budget of $ 110 million, but funding presently available is $ 19 million.

For further information, please call:

OCHA Islamabad: Maurizio Giuliano, +92 300 8502690, giuliano@un.org; Stacey Winston, +92 300 8502397, winston@un.org,
OCHA New York: Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org,
OCHA Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org
OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int