KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho shared alarming statistics of women affected by unprecedented floods, saying at least 47,000 women were pregnant in shelter camps in province. Hundreds of thousands of people have contracted various diseases after floods, she added. De Azra maintained “More than 134,000 cases of diarrhoea and 44,000 cases of malaria have been reported in province.

Dr Pechuho said over 100,000 skin-related, 101 snake bites and 500 dog bites have been reported so far among flood affectees. She said other cases including respiratory diseases were on rise in Sindh. Earlier, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a sexual and reproductive health agency said that at least 650,000 pregnant women of whom 73,000 were expected to deliver this month across country, in flood-affected areas were in dire need of maternal health service. UN agency had also warned that many women and girls were at an increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV) as almost one million houses were damaged in floods that spelled suffering for millions across Pakistan.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 05 2022

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