November 04, 2012
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A survey jointly conducted by the province's health department and UNICEF prior to the floods found that acute malnutrition rates were as high as 22.9 percent in northern Sindh and 21. 2 percent in its southern region whereas the WHO emergency threshold, requiring emergency response, is 15 percent.Last year's calamity having robbed millions of their livelihoods many, many more now live in abject poverty suffering from acute malnutrition and disease. Meanwhile, man-made crises too continue to cause population displacements. Although many of those driven from their homes in earlier military operations in the extremists infested northern areas have since been rehabilitated, the problem is far from settled.
According to OCHA official, since January this year 200,000 people have fled their homes because of security operations in the Khyber Agency alone, bringing the total number of Fata's displaced persons to a staggering 700,000. Fata happens to be one of the country's poorest regions, and hence a fertile recruitment ground for the extremists. Whether the cause of displacements is a man-made crisis or natural calamity like floods, the results are not very different in this country. Both perpetuate poverty, which in turn helps militants challenging the writ of the state find recruits for the furtherance of their violent agendas. Needless to say, the government must act urgently and effectively to restore normality to the affectees' lives.
