Concerns over disease raised in Pakistan flood aftermath

Concerns over disease raised in Pakistan flood aftermath

When the tidal wave hit Rahimyar Khan in the southern part of the Punjab province, Pakistan, it ripped everything away – communities, homes, and livelihoods.

The people in the region have retreated to dams which are kilometres long and wait for help there. There's water to the left, there's water to the right. The villages have been destroyed completely.

The fields are still flooded. The muddy water sticks to the mango trees. At least 90 percent of the working population earned their living with agriculture, such as sugar cane, cotton, rice and mangos. What was once a fertile landscape is now suffocated by water and masses of mud.

A large number of goats and cows, which represented the basic income of many people, have died in the floods. Only some of the water buffalos survived. The people still depend on food packages which are being distributed by Caritas. Too many children still do not get enough or nothing to eat.

"The hygienic conditions for the people are disastrous. The children suffer the most. Almost all of them have skin diseases, their bodies are covered in insect bites and they are malnourished or suffer from diarrhoea. Good medical and hygienic care is urgently needed," said Monika Kalcsics of Caritas Austria.

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