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The floods in Pakistan appear to be leading to a second disaster, one with waterborne diseases spreading across the hard-hit country. This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) warns on Saturday.
Although water levels are falling, severe problems with diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and infections remain. Stagnant amounts of water increase the risk of the spread of mosquitoes, which in turn spread infections.
In addition, the water is dangerous to drink.
“I am deeply concerned about the possibility of a second disaster: a wave of disease and death following this disaster that is directly linked to climate change,” WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Saturday. He calls on the outside world to continue to provide support in the form of, among other things, healthcare efforts.
The monsoon rains and subsequent floods have claimed over 1,500 lives, of which over 500 are said to be school children. Over 33 million inhabitants are directly affected.