Flood victims to face serious challenges in winter: PRCS

The Pakistan Red Crescent Society reported that the issues in the flood-hit areas remained unresolved despite enormous efforts due to which the affected people may face further challenges in winter.Chairman PRCS Major General (Retd) Ch. Muhammad Nawaz Khan said weather and issues like sanitation has placed tens of thousands of people, including women and children, at risk from disease in camps.Talking to journalists here after concluding visit of flood-affected areas of Sindh; he said that he is extremely worried about expected rise in water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases, with children among the most vulnerable.He said that vast tracts remained submerged in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab where relief efforts are yet to be initiated. If issues were not tackled in a quick and effective manner, it could lead to serious multiple problems, he warned.The PRCS chairman said that said that we have decided in principle to continue relief efforts during Eid holidays for which the holidays of field staff have been cancelled.He said that it will be extremely unfortunate for the children and babies to now succumb to disease or harsh weather during wintertime.“We need blankets and shelters to save effected people from bite of weather which we see as most urgent problem among all the issues,” he underlined.Ch. Muhammad Nawaz Khan said that PRCS has arranged eight water filtration plants providing one hundred and fifty thousand litres of clean drinking water to needy.Moreover, construction of six thousand shelters and one thousand toilets is underway in Sindh while twenty mobile health units are providing medical cover.We will do best to preventable tragedies, however, humanitarian assistance remains low while some relief items stocks are depleted which can trigger a crisis, he warned.Stressing need for more coordinated efforts, the PRCS chairman said that urgent measures were needed to avoid deaths among children and adults during cold.