Students’ rehab priority

Islamabad : Taking part in the government’s initiative of extending relief and rehabilitation support to over 33 million people including 16 million children displaced due to the recent devastating floods across Pakistan, the international humanitarian organisation Save the Children has pledged rehabilitation of flood-affected children across the country.

“As part of our national child rehabilitation programme, we have established two temporary learning centres at Dara Shah gram, a village of flood-hit Swat city, for children, where over 150 students are enrolled to provide them with quality education,” Hassan Noor Saadi, Regional Director Asia, Save the Children, informed the media during his visit to these centres here on Tuesday.

He said that teachers, provided by the government, are giving education at these centres. “We have also arranged a child-friendly play space where these flood-affected children can end their anxiety through gaming activities,” he said. Hassan Noor Saadi further added that “flood-affected Swat is the focused district of Save the Children in KP. By quickly responding to the national calls for relief efforts, we have also provided NFI kits, dignity kits and other necessary relief items in addition to tents to ten schools of the district.”

He revealed that Save the Children has also established a rural health centre in Bahrain, district Swat, where two doctors including a female and paramedical staff are providing health care to about 400 patients daily along with provision of free medicines.

“We have also arranged a psychiatrist at the health centre who is counselling children get out of the trauma in shape of flood miseries,” he said.

The latest figures show that 33 million people including 16 million children have been severely affected by the devastating floods in 116 districts across the four provinces. The outbreak of watery diarrhoea, typhoid and malaria are rapidly increasing as a result of the stagnant water in inundated areas.

So far, the floods have also damaged more than 2,056,805 houses, 3.6 million acres of crops, 23,900 schools, 1460 health facilities, and 12,000 KM of roads remain under water. As of today, Save the Children has reached more than 31,000 people, including 15,000 children through the life-saving activities under flood response 2022.