Over half a million pregnant women in the flood-affected areas are in urgent need of maternal health services, and many others are at an increased risk of gender-based violence, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA has drawn attention to the suffering of Pakistani women as a result of the devastating floods (GBV).
After being affected by the recent intense monsoon rains, at least 6.4 million people require humanitarian aid, and 1.6 million of them are women and girls.Up to 73,000 women are anticipated to give birth in the following month; they will require experienced delivery attendants, newborn care, and support.
Pregnancy and childbirth, according to the agency, cannot wait for calamities or natural disasters to pass because this is a time when both the woman and the unborn child are most vulnerable and in need of care.Dr. Bakhtior Kadirov, the UNFP’s representative in Pakistan, said the organisation is on the ground and working with partners to ensure that expectant mothers and new mothers continue to receive life-saving care despite the most difficult circumstances.
According to the research, 198 health facilities are damaged in the afflicted districts of Balochistan, putting pregnant girls’ and women’s access to them at risk. In Sindh, over 1,000 health facilities have been partially or completely destroyed.Despite the difficulties, according to Dr. Kadirov, the UNFPA will continue to provide the tools and personnel necessary for health facilities to operate at full capacity.
