New York: Six months after the devastating floods in Pakistan, humanitarians have reached more than seven million people with food and other essential services, the United Nations has reported.

The unprecedented flooding, triggered by severe monsoon rains, submerged a third of the country and resulted in some 1,700 deaths.

Millions displaced, infrastructure damaged

More than 33 million people were affected overall, or one in seven Pakistanis, while eight million were displaced and 13,000 injured, according to the UN Office in the country.

Around one million livestock animals perished in the flood waters, which damaged 4.4 million acres of agricultural land and 2.2 million houses. 

Critical infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, roads, bridges and government buildings, were left in ruins.

Child malnutrition worrying

The UN and partners continue to support the Government-led response.

“We are also supporting authorities to help communities recover, restore their livelihoods, and prepare for the next monsoon season in a few months,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, speaking in New York on Monday.

However, he reported that an $816 million appeal is only 30 per cent funded, and rates of child malnutrition remain of particular concern. 

Mr. Dujarric said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have reached more than one million boys and girls in Pakistan, and close to 850,000 mothers, with lifesaving nutrition interventions that have helped avert a significant number of deaths.  

But again, the response for child nutrition is only one third funded, leaving 12 million youngsters at risk of stunting. 

The UN’s health agency, WHO, has reached more than three million people with services, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has provided assistance to seven million Pakistanis, although four million people are still at risk.

A 'climate catastrophe'

UN Secretary-General António Guterres travelled to Pakistan in September 2022 to show solidarity with the people in the wake of the tragedy, which he described as a “climate catastrophe”.

“No country deserves this fate”, he declared, “but particularly not countries like Pakistan that have done almost nothing to contribute to global warming.”