Child malnutrition ‘of epic proportions’ in Pakistan

28 January 2011. -- The floodwaters that swept the length of Pakistan six months ago have abated to reveal a new humanitarian crisis: child malnutrition.

“I haven’t seen levels of malnutrition this bad since the worst of the famines in Ethiopia, Darfur and Chad,” says UNICEF Deputy Representative in Pakistan, Karen Allen. “The floods just pushed people over the edge. It’s truly as bad as I’ve seen in the worst emergencies in the world.”

Even before the floods struck in late July 2010, a comprehensive survey in the worst-affected region – Sindh Province in southern Pakistan – showed that almost a quarter of children under the age of five suffered from global acute malnutrition. Although malnutrition has always been prevalent in Pakistan, the scale of the problem has widened because of the floods.

“We’re seeing a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions right now,” says UNICEF Pakistan Chief of Communication, Kristen Elsby, during a visit to relief camps and health facilities in Sindh. “Millions of children are greatly at risk from malnutrition. Babies are dying and mothers are at risk of dying during childbirth.”

The crisis is the consequence of a combination of factors, including extreme poverty, poor diet, poor health, exposure to disease and inadequate sanitation and hygiene, as well as a lack of education. UNICEF is working closely with the Government and partners to ensure that malnourished children are reached and treated.

In a UNICEF-supported stabilization centre in Shadatkot, northern Sindh, six-month-old Saleem Babbar lay in the arms of his mother, Husna, 40, as she waited patiently for his condition to be assessed. Saleem fixed his gaze on her face with his brown eyes and moved his mouth in a silent plea for help.

Saleem was born on the day the floods began. Husna has been unable to breastfeed him, and he is painfully thin and underweight.

“When my child gets sick, as a mother I feel a pain in my chest,” she says. “Sometimes he is up sick all night, sneezing, burning with fever.... It worries me that his breathing is fast and loud. I don’t know why, and I don’t know what to do.”

Saleem has a chance of survival because his mother recognized his condition and took him to one of the growing number of emergency nutrition treatment centres that have sprung up since the Indus River and its tributaries overflowed. He is one of the fortunate ones, because his condition has been diagnosed.

New Zealanders can donate to UNICEF NZ’s Pakistan Appeal, more information http://www.unicef.orgnz/PakistanEmergency

ENDS

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