Nearly 3,5 million children in Pakistan are at risk of disease caused by water contamination from floods that hit the country, affecting around 20 million people, a UN spokesman said on Monday.
Nearly 3,5 million children are at serious risk of fatal diarrhea-related diseases such as dysentery, hepatitis A and E and typhus, said OCHA spokesman for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Maurizio Giuliano.
At the same time, he added that the World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing to provide help in the event of cholera. WHO is preparing to help nearly 140 people if they get cholera, but the Pakistani government has not yet informed us of any case, he added.
Our main concern is water and health. Clean water is an essential factor in avoiding water borne diseases. During the flood, the water was heavily contaminated, explained Giuliano.
According to the Pakistani authorities, up to 20 million people have directly experienced the worst floods in 80 years, which hit provinces in the northwest and in the center of the country. The UN balance sheet says about 1,6 thousand. death toll and Islamabad confirms 1 deaths. (PAP)