Post flood situation in Pakistan still critical

12 Jan 2023 by The Water Diplomat

The situation in Pakistan continues to be critical. As a reminder, this year's monsoon rains have dumped five times the average amount of water seen in the past 30 years in some provinces, killing 1,730 people and destroying or severely damaging more than 1.1 million homes and vital infrastructure. UNICEF had already released just under US$200 million in early autumn to respond to the health emergency, including the risks of diarrhoea, cholera, dengue and malaria.

According to OCHA, at a press briefing on 9 December 2022, "more than 20 million people remain dependent on humanitarian assistance". More than 4.7 million people have received assistance since the floods began. Almost 2 million children are out of school. Only 23 per cent of the $816 million flood response plan had been received to date. Several weeks after the storms, entire regions remain under stagnant water.

Between September and November, according to MSF, there has been a spike in malaria and malnutrition cases in eastern Balochistan and northern Sindh. Access to clean water remains a problem in these areas.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced in mid-December that an "International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan" would be held in Geneva on 9 January 2023, in the presence of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to support the country's reconstruction, calling on the IMF and World Bank financial institutions to get involved. The Prime Minister of Pakistan estimated that between the destruction of infrastructure and homes, loss of livestock and crops, which affected almost a third of the country, the floods had cost Pakistan more than US$40 billion.

The financial requirements for resilient reconstruction are estimated at US$ 16.3 billion.