Pakistan: 2022 Monsoon Floods - Situation Report No. 15 (As of 9 March 2023)

This report is produced by OCHA in Pakistan in collaboration with humanitarian partners. The report covers the period from 6 February 2023 to 9 March 2023. The next report will be issued on or around 9 April 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS / KEY FIGURES

• The water levels have decreased: imagery from the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) shows that 1.8 million people live by stagnant floodwater, down from 4.5 million people in January.

• As of 6 March, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Sindh reported that 26,203 internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in informal settlements and 5,132 in a tent city in the Malir district.

• More than 1.5 million children lacking Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) services, with 170,000 of them suffering from SAM with complications lack stabilization treatment.

• According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), Around 4.3 million workers in flood-affected districts have been affected by disruptions and job losses.

• The Pakistan Floods Response Plan is only 52 per cent funded of the US$816 appeal.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Six months after the Government of Pakistan declared a national emergency, approximately 1.8 million people are still living near contaminated and stagnant floodwater pools. Nutrition, food security and public health are the major concerns as many of these people are in temporary shelters, lack basic food items (at risk of sliding into emergency level of hungers) and increased cases of malnutrition.

Besides other humanitarian needs in Sindh province, PDMA Sind has declared an urgent need for dewatering activities in the districts of Nausharo Feroze, Khairpur, Sukkur, Jhatta, and Ghotki. To achieve this, five excavators, dewatering pumps, and fuel are required to complete the dewatering process and provide the people in these areas with appropriate livelihood standards. Flooding in Balochistan continues to affect vulnerable populations, with stagnant water remaining visible in some Union Councils within Nasirabad division. Malaria and other waterborne diseases are becoming an increasingly concerning issue, with Vector Borne Disease (VBD) positivity rates at 74 per cent in Sohbatpur, 62 per cent in Jhal Magsi, 52 per cent in Nasirabad, 52 per cent in Jaffarabad, and 41 per cent in district Kaachi. The high temperatures in the region are proving to be a challenge for those living in tents, whose health, WASH, and shelter needs to be focused.

Prior to the flooding, rates of chronic and acute malnutrition were already high (more than emergency threshold) in the affected areas. Currently, 12 million children in Pakistan, more than half of whom live in flood-impacted districts, experience stunting, a condition that leads to permanent harm to their minds, bodies, and immune systems. Pakistan has the 25th highest infant mortality rate globally, with almost half of all deaths in children under 5 being caused by undernutrition (WorldAtlas, 2018, UNICEF 2021). More than 1.5 million children lacking Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) services, with 170,000 of them suffering from SAM with complications lack stabilization treatment.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), The floods in Pakistan have had a devastating effect on the workforce, with 4.3 million workers in affected districts experiencing job losses and disruptions. This amounts to 20 per cent of the pre-flood workforce. The agriculture sector was the most significantly impacted, with 43 per cent (1.9 million people) affected, followed by the services industry 36 per cent (1.5 million people), and industry 21 per cent (0.9 million people).

In rural areas, food inflation has skyrocketed to 45 percent, leaving countless people unable to purchase enough food to sustain themselves and their families. This alarming statistic has caused more than one million people to become dependent on humanitarian aid for sustenance.

Led by the Government, with the support of UN Agencies, international and national NGOs, the Food Security and Agriculture Sector provided life-saving assistance to 6.9 million people, the Shelter and Non-Food Item (NFI) Sector to 3.3 million people, the Health Sector to 3.1 million people, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector to 1.9 million people, the Nutrition Sector to 0.9 million people, the Education Sector to 0.2 million people, and the Protection Sector to 1.7 million people, in flood-affected areas of Pakistan.