Tag: Pakistan floods

  • Schools to reopen soon in flood-affected areas of Sindh

    Schools to reopen soon in flood-affected areas of Sindh

    The Sindh government has decided to reopen educational institutions in flood-hit areas in the province.

    Addressing a press conference, Sindh’s Education Minister Sardar Shah said on Friday that continuing education in flood-prone areas is a challenge. He directed all the concerned officers to reopen the schools in all the flood-hit areas within 15 days.

    The Minister said that some of the schools will take around three years to resume their operations, and said that the government has devised a plan to recommence education in disaster-hit districts.

    He continued by saying that the Chief Minister (CM) of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, had also been approached for help by the Education Ministry in the development of temporary tent schools.

    He further said that 15,000 tent classrooms are being built in areas impacted by the floods.

    Additionally, the minister announced the hiring of nearly 700 music educators across the province. Teachers of naat khwani, qawwali, and sana khwani will also be recruited in addition to those who teach music.
    Minister Shah also stated that 49,000 teachers have been hired by the government.

  • WHO assures assistance in essential healthcare in flood- affected areas

    WHO assures assistance in essential healthcare in flood- affected areas

    World Health Organization’s (WHO) Country Representative Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala on Saturday said that essential healthcare services will be provided in flood-affected areas.

    During a media briefing on the WHO’s role in relief efforts in flood-hit areas, he said that WHO was working on a plan to aid in establishing effective healthcare systems.
    The WHO country director stated that his agency was fully aware of the destruction brought on by the recent floods in Pakistan, stressing that the flood seriously harmed the delivery of health-care services, leading to a variety of health hazards.

    He continued by saying that numerous diseases like cholera, malaria, dengue fever, skin infections, and typhoid were on the rise in the impacted areas.

    “In order to prevent mortality due to malaria, WHO is providing rapid diagnostic kits and anti-malarial medicines worth $2.5 million while technical support is also being provided to the federal and provincial governments to deal with malaria outbreaks. As larvicidal preventive measures are not possible in flood-affected areas, prophylactic treatment and post-exposure treatments are being arranged to treat malaria patients”, he added.
    WHO will hire an additional 107 technical specialists and staff to help manage the health emergency in Pakistan’s flood-affected regions.

  • Men need to know, it’s time to talk about the menstrual period

    Men need to know, it’s time to talk about the menstrual period

    Pakistan is in the throes of devastating floods that have wreaked havoc across all four provinces. The scale of devastation has been estimated to be more than $10 billion. And yet with thousands of lives lost, and millions homeless, we are still debating on whether sending sanitary napkins to the flood-affected areas is a good idea or not. As per an estimate, 8.2 million women in flood-affected areas are of reproductive age. Menstruating women in disaster-hit areas require access to safe and clean menstruation hygiene products. We need to understand that periods don’t pause during floods or rains. It’s a natural process that keeps happening every month to every woman of age. There are women who are pregnant. There might be a few girls who will get their periods for the time. Due to the present conditions when there is no clean water, the use of cloth can be dangerous as well. There are reports that women have had to resort to using leaves in the flood-affected areas during their periods.

    Read more: Floods in Pakistan: Should you donate sanitary pads?

    In times like these when every human matters, why does it happen that women are so conveniently put under the radar and a product that is a basic need for any woman of age, becomes a topic of debate in terms of whether it is a luxury or a necessity? When will people learn to accept that talking or educating about periods is not taboo? It’s about a woman’s hygiene and health. We all need to understand that men and women all need to be treated the same way, with dignity and equality. All of them need the same basic facilities.

    It will take a lot of effort and manpower to provide the rehabilitation and relief needed for millions of people. It’s time we hit pause on always putting women under the radar and for once act with reason and responsibility towards them. We need to learn to empathise with the flood victims without gender discrimination.

  • PCB to donate earnings from match against England to flood victims

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that gate earnings from the first T20I against England will be donated to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund 2022.

    The match will be played on September 20 at the National Stadium in Karachi and will begin at 7:30pm (local time).

    The PCB has urged cricket supporters and fans to buy tickets in large quantities once they go on sale online the following week in order to show solidarity with all those affected by the floods.

     “We at the PCB express our grief and sorrow for all those affected by the extreme monsoon rainfall and floods, which has ​resulted in havoc and devastation beyond imagination, killing over 1,000 and leaving around a million homeless. As cricket unites our proud nation, we stand firmly with the victims and all those involved in​ the flood relief and rescue operations,” said PCB chairman Ramiz Raja in a statement.

    According to the data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA), at least 1,033 people have died in floods caused by heavy rains in the country.

  • Pakistan is drowning. Why don’t we care until it’s too late?

    Floods in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people, which is about 15 per cent of the country’s population. More than a thousand people have lost their lives and millions have been displaced, prompting the government to proclaim a national emergency. This is one of the worst natural calamities in recent times. The harrowing videos and pictures on our television screens and social media show massive devastation, pain, tears, and death spread across the country. Entire villages have been washed away, and there are places that have been fully drenched due to the inundated rain and floods, turning them into islands without any access to the outside world. There are places without electricity, without internet, without phone data, without roads, and without food and help. What Pakistan witnessed in the 2010 floods is not even close to what the country is facing today. A decade later, the country is fully swamped with water. Unfortunately, we the people woke up a little too late to this harsh reality. With every passing day, the death toll increases and so does the destruction.

    The national response has been slow, to say the least, but mercifully all governments, federal and provincial, are actively helping the flood victims. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been actively visiting the flood-affected areas and trying to be at the top of his game by showing empathy towards the needy and has categorically said that it is time Pakistanis show unity and keep everything aside to save the flood victims while Chairman PTI Imran Khan will be hosting a telethon for fundraising on Monday. However, Khan has said that the PTI’s movement for Haqeeqi Azadi will continue alongside its flood relief work. PTI held a jalsa in Jehlum for its fight for haqeeqi azadi on August 27. A PTI member took to the stage and said that overseas Pakistanis should not give funds to the flood victims because the present government took away their right to vote. Khan also reiterated that his struggle against thieves will continue whether come what may. Such calamities demand a bipartisan approach from our leaders but well here too we have managed to fail our country. Khan seems pretty adamant that his quest against those he does not approve of will continue, even if there is a flood or war. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that the Opposition can keep playing “jalsa, jalsa” while they will deal with the flood catastrophe.

    The question remains: will the politicians be able to let their politics take a backseat for now and show some empathy towards their own citizens? Can’t politics, the numbers game, and the blame game wait? For once, our politicians should look beyond their own personal interests and agendas and stand united. Our politicians must give priority to those millions of people who have been affected by floods. It is time that all Pakistanis must donate wholeheartedly. The people need to be prompt with their help and generosity. We hope that partisan politics is put on hold, and all political leaders fully dedicate their voices and efforts to helping the flood victims. They need to be rescued right now and relief efforts must continue. They will later need to be rehabilitated and relocated. It will take a lot of resources and hard work. We must all come together to help them right now. Our political battles can wait.