ISLAMABAD: As the wheat sowing season is progressing in full swing, the United Nations says 98 per cent of the total area for wheat cultivation in Sindh is now available for the next planting season, as people are preparing the land for the sowing season in areas where floodwater has receded.

A report on the latest situation released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says floodwater continues to recede in many areas of Sindh and Balochistan though standing water remains in some districts. In Sindh, the most affected districts, such as Dadu, Khairpur and Mirpurkhas, remained underwater for nearly two months, it says.

Key findings from a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) impact assessment in August indicated that 9.4 million acres of crop area in the country were flooded. Compared with September, close to 1.09m acres of crop area in the country were flooded.

Floodwater continues to recede in several areas of Sindh and Balochistan

The report released on Saturday emphasised that there is now also a need for the provision of seeds and fertilisers to cultivate vegetable crops and support restoration of the affected crop areas and livelihoods ahead of the upcoming agriculture cropping season. There is a need to make efforts to protect livestock and ensure farmers do not miss the Rabi cropping season, the FAO assessment shows.

The UNOCHA report says the ongoing economic crisis due to rising inflation, low productivity growth and climate change-induced floods continues to present challenges to food security and basic nutrition in the flood-affected areas. The latest National Nutrition Survey estimated that close to 1.6m children could suffer from severe acute malnutrition and require treatment in Sindh and Balochistan flood-affected areas.

In addition, the rate of stunting among children, which was already high before the floods, will further compound children’s cognitive development. Malnourished pregnant women are also at risk of low-birth weight babies who will be malnourished. In Sindh and Balochistan, more than one in nine children under five admitted to health facilities suffered from severe acute malnutrition.

Malaria cases are increasing due to the stagnant water, while the incidence of diarrhea is at least five times higher than usual, especially in Sindh and Balochistan.

Stagnating water has provided breeding sites for mosquitos, resulting in an ongoing malaria outbreak in 32 districts. In Sindh, between July and early October, nearly 350,000 people were suspected of having malaria, more than 700,000 had some form of diarrhea, and over 770,000 people reported a skin-related disease, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.

The floods have severely affected the education sector, with at least 26,632 schools damaged across the country.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2022