International aid agency Oxfam yesterday warned that Pakistan will face devastating problems unless reconstruction begins immediately.
The charity said Pakistan will face severe food shortages for at least a year because of the widespread devastation to farmland caused by four weeks of flooding
Oxfam added that long-term relief work should be under way at this stage of the crisis, but it is being delayed because priority is being given to the provision of shelter, clean water and sanitation.
It warned that farmers have little time to plant the next harvest, raising fears of future hunger.
Neva Khan, Oxfam’s country director, said: ‘Pakistan doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for the emergency phase to be over before starting the reconstruction.
‘We are still in phase one of an increasing catastrophe, evacuating people, providing them with shelter, trying to get clean water and sanitation to those people who need it.’
Oxfam also stressed that planning needed to be put in place now to make it possible for the millions of displaced people to survive the next 12 months.
Fellow aid agency Save the Children has warned that more than 100,000 heavily pregnant women face the risk of infection and disease in the aftermath of the flooding.
The agency said at least 500,000 expectant mothers have been affected by the floods, with tens of thousands of newborn babies and women in potential danger in the coming months.
It added many expectant mothers would be forced to give birth in temporary shelters or tents, with no access to clean water or healthcare.
Pakistan was experiencing a high infant mortality rate before the flood disaster. One in twenty newborn babies dies before they are a month old.
Matt Wingate, of Save the Children said: ‘We know that mums are already giving birth in the flimsiest of shelters, only metres from dirty floodwater.’
He added: ‘This presents appalling risks in terms of disease and infection, and ultimately poses a serious threat to the lives of mums and their newborn babies.’
Aid workers have so far managed to reach over 160,000 women through emergency medical care, and assist pregnant women crossing the river by carrying them across.
WHO spokeswoman Gul Afridi told a press conference in Islamabad: ‘The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set up 70 diarrhoeal treatment centres in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to check the disease.
‘We are in the process of setting up similar treatment centres in Baluchistan to prevent the spread of the disease.’
She added that cases of malaria are also on the rise, especially in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, head of the 57-member Organisation of The Islamic Conference, on Sunday announced that that Muslims have pledged nearly $1bn flood relief to Pakistan.
The pledges came from Muslim states, NGOs, OIC institutions and telethons held in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, he said at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.
‘They have shown that they are one of the largest contributors of assistance both in kind and cash,’ Ihsanoglu added.
