Losses aplenty: ‘72% of flood affected people have left their homes’

The flood victims are suffering from health and hygiene related issues

KARACHI: Around 72 per cent of the population affected by the recent floods in six districts of Sindh and Punjab have left their homes, while eight per cent of the population will leave their native villages due to stagnant water, disclosed a report issued by the Health and Nutrition Development Society (Hands).

The report was conducted in six districts including Khairpur, Ghotki and Kashmore in Sindh and Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Rananpur in Punjab. The random survey shows that a majority of the people had lost their homes and were living in makeshift shelters, using tents, tarpaulins and bamboos.

According to Hands chief executive Dr Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed, 30 union councils of 10 talukas were surveyed. Around 87 per cent of the losses incurred were reported for agriculture-based sources, followed by daily labour at 46 per cent, he added. Losses were also reported in livestock, regular jobs, entrepreneurship and home-based livelihood activities. He said that villagers were facing a number of issues, including those related to health and hygiene.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2015.