Flood-hit regions in Pakistan have become infested with diseases including malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, the southern Sindh provincial government said in a report issued on Friday (September 16), even as flood waters began to drain away from the areas, Reuters reports.
Pakistan authorities say it could take up to six months for the flood waters to fully recede, spiking concerns about waterborne diseases such as dengue and cholera.
But as temperatures in some swamped areas cross 40 degrees Celsius, millions of flood-displaced people are living in the open under the scorching sun, many with no access to clean drinking water.
So they swim in the stagnant flood water; and drink it too.
"It is extremely hot; and we are swamped in flood water. So we not only swim in this water, we also drink it, because we have no other drinking water," said Abdul Aziz, a resident of Sehwan in Sindh province, one of the regions worst hit by the recent floods.
"We are not getting any clean water from the government, so we have no other option," he said, as others splashed around in the water, unmindful of the dangers lurking there.
In his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said stagnant water was giving rise to water-borne diseases.
The devastating floods have claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people, including at least 528 children, according to the latest government figures and UNICEF on Friday (September 16).
"I have been in flood-affected areas for the past two days. The situation for families is beyond bleak, and the stories I heard paint a desperate picture," said Abdullah Fadil, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Pakistan, in a statement.
Women and children - mostly malnourished and in poor health in rural regions - are particularly vulnerable. Several provinces reported tens of thousands of patients visiting make-shift health facilities in flood ravaged areas, officials said, noting acute respiratory problems, skin diseases such as scabies, eye infections and typhoid.
"All of us on the ground see malnourished children battling diarrhoea and malaria, dengue fever, and many with painful skin conditions," Fadil said.
The UNHCR said an estimated 16 million children have been affected, and at least 3.4 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate lifesaving support.
