Food shortage is feared to be the major problem for over 8 million flood survivors across Sindh. The lives of newborns, pregnant women and minor children are at risk the most due to unavailability of food items in the affected areas.
The recent flood has devastated shops and nearby markets in the inundated towns and villages. The displaced residents presently living on isolated mounds, sand dunes, rocky hills and safe embankments are facing hunger. In a statement, Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) Executive Director Javed Hussain said his organisation had initially distributed food items among the flood survivors in Mirpurkhas district alongside the World Food Programme.
Hussain said hundreds of families need quick help, food and non-food items, potable water and medicines. According to official reports, over 8 million people have been affected in 23 districts of the province and 300 have already died. Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan and Nawabshah have been declared worst-hit. Over 1.22 million houses have been damaged in 31,022 villages, whereas crops over 2 million acres of land have also been destroyed.
Farmers are still uncertain regarding cultivation of wheat, which could cause food shortage. Hussain said over 1 million people in Badin district have been affected, 267,368 in Tando Muhammad Khan and 705,151 in Mirpurkhas. There are also reports of spreading epidemic diseases. Children, mothers, newborns and pregnant women are the most vulnerable in this situation. At least 100,000 newborns living in relief camps and in ordinary shelters set up in far-off areas need proper care.
Some families are living along roadsides and others have moved to sand dunes and mountainous areas. These people do not have access to food and potable water and are vulnerable to the weather changes. According to the SCF statement, the organisation is distributing food items to cover a large number of families in Mirpurkhas and Tando Muhammad Khan districts, where the foundation has set up mobile medical camps with qualified male and female doctors.
