Flooding fleeing victims in Pakistan
The World Health Organization (WHO) says Pakistan is on the verge of a public health disaster after record flooding.
Media reports said that millions were falling ill due to the spread of waterborne diseases.
While infections have killed more than 2,000 people since mid-June, 350 people have died of infections, according to the latest casualty figures.
“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 Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“The water has stopped rising, but the danger has not. We are on the verge of a public health disaster,” World Health Organisation (WHO) chief said at the launch of the United Nations flash appeal in Geneva.
The UN said it needed 816 million U.S. dollars 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 dollars 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.
Around half of the 33 million affected people still live in makeshift accommodation with little or no access to clean drinking water and toilets.
