ISLAMABAD: Around 8 million children will remain unvaccinated and the education facilities for over 2.5 millions will not be restored if the United Nations is not provided funds by the international community immediately, Kristen Elsby, spokesperson of UNICEF, warned on Wednesday.
“We will be forced to wrap up vaccination facilities and close down various schools and
life saving centers in Pakistan if funds are not provided immediately to the UN or UNICEF,” she said, adding that the crisis was not yet over and the world community should continue to support Pakistan.
Gull Afridi of World Health Organization (WHO) said WHO was collaborating with
the government of Pakistan in combating dengue and an international mission would come to Pakistan to train doctors and paramedical staff on dengue virus.
He also said that diarrhea was not a major threat in flood-affected areas now and WHO diarrhea centers in Punjab were being revamped to treat winter diseases.
Jacqueline Koch, spokesperson of Merlin, a UN partner organization providing healthcare in flood affected areas, said that pneumonia and respiratory disease would increase in winter. She said that 14 million people would need medical aid in winter to cope with winter, adding that Merlin was already providing medical help to people in Northern parts of the country.
International Organization of Migration said that most of the population in Sindh was still deprived of basic facilities and around 32 percent affected people still needed support.
UNCHR spokesperson said transitional homes were being built in Sindh and Balochistan and people could not return to their villages which were still flooded. She said that around one million people of Sindh were still living in camps.
