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Appeal to help, save and protect children in Pakistan

Around 33 million people, including approximately 16 million children, have been affected by this year’s heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan, which have brought devastating rains, floods and landslides. The major rivers have breached their banks and dams have overflowed, destroying homes, farms and critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and public health facilities.  

At least 18,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed across the country due to the floods.  After two years of pandemic school closures in the last few years, children once again risk further disruption to their learning, in areas where one-third of girls and boys were already out-of-school before the crisis. 

Many of the hardest-hit areas are amongst the most vulnerable in Pakistan, where children already suffer from high rates of malnutrition, and poor access to water and sanitation. Most of the affected districts have seen public health facilities damaged, medicines destroyed by the floods, and many health workers displaced from their homes. The risk of waterborne diseases is high, including the cases of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases, respiratory infection, and skin diseases have already been reported.

According to Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI), Pakistan is a known climate hotspot country, where children are considered 'extremely high risk' to the impacts of climate change. Children are facing a deadly combination of exposure to multiple climates and environmental shocks combined with high levels of underlying child vulnerability, due to inadequate essential services, such as water and sanitation, healthcare, and education.

Ecumenical Commission for Human Development (ECHD) is an advocacy, humanitarian relief, and development agency committed to ensuring that children affected get the critical support they need as soon as possible and appealing financial assistance to reach children and their families in the coming months with lifesaving essential medicines, safe drinking water, and sanitation supplies, nutrition supplies, and temporary learning centers and kits.