Abdul Karim
Rehmatullah is waiting at while holding his crying baby at a mobile center for the malnourished children in Hanna-Urak area of Quetta.
Rehmat is at the mobile camp to get his child tested and receive required food for him.
He said that he was a resident of Hanna-Urak area of Quetta and lost his house to the floods. “The flood rendered me homeless and I am facing several issues now,” he told TNN.
He said that besides the destruction of his house, the flood also badly affected his children. “Doctors are telling me that my children are malnourished,” he said.
Haji Sardar, an official working with the mobile team of the Balochistan government’s nutrition programme said that flood affected children did not received proper food and facing malnutrition.
“Malnourished children are quick to fell prey to many illnesses,” he said.
He said that these children do not gain weight. “We are seeing a large number of underweight children and trying to provide food to them,” he said.
Balochistan Nutrition Programme’s district officer Rasool Bakhsh told TNN that children in the districts of Jafferabad, Naseerabad, Suhbatpur and Jhal Magsi, which are known as province’s greenbelt, were facing food shortages.
He said that before floods, the programme was working in 13 districts with the assistance of UNICEF; however, after the floods, it was extended to the flood affected areas as well.
“Currently the programme covers 21 districts of the province,” he said.
Balochistan government figures show that currently 150,000 flood affected children have been screened by the programme between August and October.
The figures showed that of this about 20,000 children were facing severe malnutrition. Besides, the programme has also provided medicines to 70,000 pregnant women so that neonates should not face malnutrition.
However, the figures showed that about one percent of children facing malnutrition have lost their lives.
Rasool Bakhsh said that before floods about 54 percent of province children were facing malnutrition; however, post floods this figure has gone up to 70 percent.
He said that the Balochistan was facing higher ratio of unemployment while floods have further exacerbated this situation.
This result into food shortages for mother which in turn also resulted in malnutrition among their offspring, he said.
He said that these families do not have resources to purchase milk and other food.
Rasool Bakhsh said that provincial government was working to provide food to all these children and has also mobilized its teams for this purpose.
