UNITED NATIONS - More than 10 million people, including children, living in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas still lack safe drinking water, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned Tuesday. In a statement, the UN agency said the situation leaves families with no alternative but to “drink and use potentially disease-ridden water.” The floods, which experts attribute to climate change, killed 1,739 people, including 647 children and 353 women, causing an estimated $30 billion in damages. Even before the devastating floods, despite the country’s drinking water supply system covering 92 percent of the population, only 36 percent of the water was considered safe for consumption, UNICEF said. The floods damaged most of the water systems in affected areas, compelling more than 5.4 million people, including 2.5 million children, to solely rely on contaminated water from ponds and wells. “Safe drinking water is not a privilege, it is a basic human right,” UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil said, calling for donors support, and placing children at the heart of all post-flood recovery and resilience plans. “Yet, every day, millions of girls and boys in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable waterborne diseases and the consequential malnutrition,” he said. “We need the continued support of our donors to provide safe water, build toilets and deliver vital sanitation services to these children and families who need them the most.”
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