About 458 children have died[i] as a result of the devastating floods in Pakistan, accounting for nearly one third of the total fatalities of 1,300, with Save the Children calling for more support from the international community to stop the death toll rising further.
Khuram Gondal, Save the Children’s Country Director for Pakistan, said:
“With each new day the impact of this horror show just gets worse and worse. Today’s news is yet another reminder that children are some of the most vulnerable to extreme weather events that are becoming more and more deadly due to the climate crisis.
“We dread the coming days in which we may hear even worse news – particularly if we cannot get lifesaving aid to people in time. The aftermath of the floods will bring even more risks to children: disease, hunger, lack of healthcare and protection risks. Many children are now wandering around on their own, have lost their homes and their families, vulnerable to horrors like trafficking.
“We urgently need more support from the international community. And the world must wake up to the climate emergency and its deadly threat to children.”
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: Mala Darmadi on 0425562113 or media.team@savethechildren.org.au.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Save the Children is already operating in the worst affected provinces and deploying teams to other hardest hit areas to assess the immediate needs of children and families. Please give to our Children's Emergency Fund today to help us respond quickly to children living in crisis in countries like Pakistan. Save the Children has so far reached more 11,000 people, including about 5,800 children, through responses to flooding and is working closely with National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities.
Through its global campaign to tackle the climate crisis and inequality, Save the Children is listening to and amplifying children’s own experiences of how climate change and inequality are affecting their lives, including in Pakistan. The child rights organisation is calling on world leaders, corporates, and wealthy elites to tackle the climate crisis and lift children and their families out of poverty.
[i] Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority.