Over 5 million Pakistan flood victims to face food crisis, warns UN

ISLAMABAD – The United Nations humanitarian body has warned of an unfolding food crisis in the flood-hit districts of Pakistan, saying over five million victims will face serious crisis in next three months.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in its latest situation report on “Pakistan: 2022 Monsoon Floods” states the current floods are expected to exacerbate food insecurity, adding that 5.74 million people in flood-affected districts will be facing the crisis between September and November.

As of 30 September, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has recorded nearly 1,700 deaths and more than 12,800 injuries since mid-June after abnormal monsoon rains triggered massive floods, sinking large swathes of the country underwater.

The highest death rates were recorded in Sindh (747), Balochistan (325) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (307). More than 2 million houses have been damaged or destroyed while deluges overall affected 33 million in the South Asian country.

Last week, the UN has announced to issue a revised appeal seeking an additional $800 million from the international community to assist Pakistan in its flood relief activities.

It said that “food is being delivered to vulnerable families; however, it is still not enough to meet the nutrition needs of the people.”

The Pakistan government, in its estimates, said that floods had incurred losses of $30 billion on national economy.