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Pakistan

Pakistan: Over Half a Million Births Expected Among Flood Victims

(New York / Geneva / Islamabad: 30 August 2010): An estimated half a million flood-affected women are expected to give birth during the coming six months in Pakistan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"We must ensure the health and safety of all these women and their babies", said Martin Mogwanja, Humanitarian Coordinator in the flood-hit South Asian country, "This disaster has already affected almost 18 million people. We don't want it to also affect half a million babies who are not born yet".

One month after the gradual onset of the devastating floods, reproductive health remains a significant concern across Pakistan's flooded areas.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WHO, is participating in the National Steering Committee on the Health Response to the Floods. This Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, has ensured that reproductive health is mainstreamed throughout the response.

After conducting assessments on maternal, neonatal, and child health, UNFPA has established labor rooms at selected service delivery points. So far, 36 fully equipped such points have been established, comprising 23 mobile service units and 13 existing government health facilities. These facilities are established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK), Punjab, and Sindh, and provide emergency reproductive health services and emergency obstetric care, including clinical management of survivors of violence.

Since the waters started to ravage Pakistan, UNFPA teams have assisted in approximately 5,600 safe deliveries.

"Additional support is urgently required to scale up life-saving health activities in affected areas", said Dr. Naseer Nizamani, Assistant Representative of UNFPA in Pakistan, "UNFPA has reported challenges in recruiting adequate numbers of female health care providers, especially gynecologists, in flood-affected areas".

Pakistan's floods have so far affected an estimated 17.6 million people, 70% of whom are estimated to be women and children. Out of US$ 460 million requested by the United Nations and its partners to initially assist at least six million people in the context of the Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan (PIFERP), $ 6 million is required for reproductive health activities - 12 dollars per birth. So far, only $ 1.2 million, or 20% of requirements, has been received for these activities.

For further information, please call: OCHA Islamabad: Maurizio Giuliano,+92 300 8502397 giuliano@un.org; Stacey Winston, +92 300 8502690, winston@un.org; OCHA New York: Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org; OCHA Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

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