The devastations brought by recent floods have left Pakistan submerged in crisis. Countless homes, staple crops and livestock have been damaged ruthlessly, and rescue operations are still under way. Yet, as previous disasters have shown, the real crisis is only just beginning. It arrives quietly, after the waters recede, in the form of epidemics, malnutrition and human misery.
The precedent of 2022 is clear. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan faced its worst malaria outbreak in nearly fifty years, with over 3.4 million suspected cases compared to 2.6 million in the entire previous year. UNICEF reported that one in every nine children in Sindh and Balochistan was suffering from severe acute malnutrition. By the end of that year, more than 5.4 million people were drinking contaminated water, leading to nearly 2,000 confirmed cholera cases, and Pakistan had recorded over 41,000 dengue infections, largely in Sindh and Balochistan. These reminders must not be dismissed as mere figures but considered strong reminders of our incompetent policies to tackle the health hazards which emerge in the aftermath.
The present disaster threatens to exceed that scale. The floodwaters have devastated parts of southern Punjab, Sindh and KPK. Early reports already suggest higher displacement than in 2022, which means greater overcrowding in shelters, more families without clean drinking water, and faster spread of communicable diseases. And the worst may still be to come: once the massive volumes of water fully enter the Sindh river system, that province is expected to once again join the list of the most severely affected areas.
Malaria, dengue, cholera and typhoid will rise. Malnutrition will deepen among children under five, whose immunity is already weakened by poverty. Pregnant women and the elderly will face heightened risks without access to care. Mental health burdens, largely invisible, will weigh on displaced families. Yet, none of this is unforeseen — it is precisely what happened in the last great floods.
Pakistan requires no rhetoric, only preparation: climate-resistant health facilities in high-risk districts, mobile health units, pre-emptive surveillance to monitor malaria and cholera and independent mechanism to guarantee transparent aid distribution. Without these precautions, disease and malnutrition casualties will dwarf the devastations we see now, in comparison to its aftermath.
M Nabeel Abid Bhatti
Lahore
