WHO allocates $ 10 m to address health problems in Pakistan

31 / 08 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

World Health Organization (WHO) Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization is releasing $ 10 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support Pakistan in facing health problems triggered by the floods gripping the country.

The WHO has classified the flooding in Pakistan as a grade 3 emergency, the highest level, which means all three levels of the organization are involved in the response: the country and regional offices, and headquarters, he said in a press briefing.

The flooding in Pakistan has led to new outbreaks of diarrheal diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, malaria, dengue, and more.

In addition, the loss of crops and livestock will have a significant impact on the nutrition and health of many communities who depend on these resources.

In Pakistan, weeks of heavy monsoon rains have caused extensive flooding and landslides, resulting in death, displacement and damage.

More than 1000 deaths have been reported, and almost 900 health facilities have been damaged.

Three-quarters of Pakistan’s districts and 33 million people have been affected, with more than 6 million in dire need of humanitarian aid.

Damage to health infrastructure, shortages of health workers, and limited health supplies are disrupting health services, leaving children and pregnant and lactating women at increased risk.

Pakistan was already facing health threats including COVID-19, cholera, typhoid, measles, leishmaniasis, HIV and polio.

Floods in Pakistan, drought and famine in the Greater Horn of Africa, and more frequent and intense cyclones in the Pacific and Caribbean all point to the urgent need for action against the existential threat of climate change.