Millions of youngsters in Pakistan will face especially difficult circumstances in the coming months, with effects that will continue for a very long period of time least for those who survive to adulthood.
The youngest Pakistanis are most at risk as the catastrophic floods’ aftermath plays out and sickness and starvation take hold. Approximately 530 of the approximately 1,500 people who have died as a result of floods are youngsters.
Unicef estimates that there are 16 million children affected by the floods, with at least 3.4 million of them in need of immediate, life-saving assistance.
The Unicef representative in Pakistan reported after a two-day visit to Sindh’s flooded areas that malnourished children were suffering from diarrhoea, dengue fever, and excruciating skin conditions as a direct result of the disaster.
Generational (and gender) differences frequently exist in disasters. Research shows that within a month after a natural disaster, young children showed a 9–18% rise in acute diseases such diarrhoea, fever, and respiratory problems, even in the US. Somatic symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue also appeared more frequently. The psychological effects are another factor.
Children need routine to feel secure, so when their lives are suddenly upended by a catastrophic occurrence with no apparent end in sight, they are extremely vulnerable to developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
The tragedy of an outrageously unequal society, in which a huge number of children already struggle with severe disadvantages from birth, is compounded by the super flood.
Consider that 38 percent of Pakistan’s under-five population is stunted due to malnutrition, one of the highest prevalence rates in the world. Unicef has called this scenario a “growing emergency” for Pakistan. Millions of them are condemned to a future where they will never reach their full potential.
Furthermore, despite recent years’ steady declines in baby and under-five death rates, there is still a glaring difference between rural and urban areas, with the latter displaying a greater drop due to access to superior health services.
Even those advances might be at least partially undone given how severely the floods have affected rural regions. A rise in child marriage, with all of its negative impacts on girls’ mental and physical health, is also likely to result from rising poverty.
Future efforts at rehabilitation must place a priority on Pakistan’s youth.
