Crowded Camps, Stagnant Water And Not Enough Doctors: First The Floods, Now Disease Stalks Millions In Pakistan

On a sweltering day successful Head Muhammad Wala, a riverside colony adjacent nan Pakistani metropolis of Multan, Rubina Nawaz is nursing a sick kid successful a impermanent location of damp blankets and integrative sheeting.

Her two-room location vanished nether flood waters successful September erstwhile nan Chenab River burst its banks successful nan torrential rains that person been deluging parts of Pakistan since precocious June. More than 6 cardinal group person been affected, pinch astir 1,000 killed, including 250 children, according to nan UN. Nearly 2.5 cardinal group person been displaced.

Rubina Nawaz points to wherever her location lies submerged successful flood water. Photograph: Haroon Janjua/The Guardian

Nawaz was asleep, unsocial pinch her 3 children arsenic her hubby was moving distant successful nan city, erstwhile nan h2o started coming successful to their house.

“I rushed extracurricular and then, erstwhile nan h2o reached six feet, climbed connected to nan tile pinch my children,” Nawaz says.

“That nighttime and nan pursuing morning, we had thing to eat. While connected nan rooftop, my small boy kept asking erstwhile we could spell location downstairs, but our location was already submerged. The h2o had astir reached nan tile erstwhile rescue teams yet arrived nan adjacent day to return america to nan camps by boat, and it reached a maximum of 22 feet,” says Nawaz.

Her youngest daughter, Aneesa, nine, now has symptoms that propose she whitethorn person terrible cholera.

Most flood-affected group were accommodated successful impermanent camps hastily erected by nan government. A fortunate fewer person been capable to enactment pinch relatives aliases been taken successful by big families successful safer areas.

But moreover arsenic nan h2o levels person receded, stagnant opinionated h2o and sewage contamination is proving a threat to those surviving successful nan camps wherever they person only basal cooking accommodation and sanitation and constricted entree to cleanable drinking water.

While location are nary charismatic figures for cholera successful nan region, doctors astatine nationalist and backstage hospitals successful Multan study a doubling of cholera and malaria cases since nan floods. Gastrointestinal issues are besides increasing, starring to overcrowded emergency wards.

“There has been a surge successful cases of cholera, diarrhoea, malaria and dengue, chiefly among patients seeking curen coming from nan flood-affected camps. I was usually treating 40 to 50 patients daily, but now location are astir 100 patients coming for gastro-related issues and treatment,” a expert says connected nan information of anonymity.

Thousands of group displaced by floods now unrecorded successful impermanent camps successful Multan district, Punjab province. Photograph: Mansoor Abbas/EPA

The Multan area has a organization of astir 5 cardinal and covers 3,720 sq km. Initial estimates bespeak that nan floods caused harm to up to 15% of homes.

“The alleviation camps crossed Multan person facilitated 56,415 people,” a authorities charismatic astatine nan agency of Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab says. “Six fixed aesculapian clinics are working, while 28 clinics are connected wheels.”

But nary of those nan Guardian said to successful 3 of nan displacement camps had immoderate entree to aesculapian accommodation aliases had seen a expert aliases nurse.

According to nan World Health Organization (WHO), vector-borne diseases, chiefly malaria, surged by 87% betwixt June and August 2025, while cholera, on pinch oculus infections and tegument allergies, was connected nan emergence successful Pakistan aft nan floods though nary contiguous information was available.

“When group are displaced and forced to trust connected unfamiliar h2o sources, nan likelihood of encountering contaminated h2o increases. Displaced group mightiness move to drinking from rivers aliases different unsafe h2o sources, expanding their consequence of infection,” says Dr Qaiser Sajjad of nan Pakistan Medical Association.

Sumera Bibi, right, astatine nan campy pinch her mother and family. Photograph: Haroon Janjua/The Guardian

People successful nan displacement camps kick of a deficiency of safe, backstage latrines aliases bathing accommodation for women. Menstrual hygiene products are unavailable and nan conditions time off women and girls susceptible to harassment and intersexual violence.

Sumera Bibi, 25, says women consciousness afraid. She is battling a fever and tegument allergies and says she has received nary aesculapian care.

“We request due aesculapian attention, and nan beingness of a expert is essential. We consciousness unsafe present successful nan camps,” she says.

“We are helpless; we person nary capable spot to navigator and live, we person mislaid everything – our crops, our homes and our belongings. Outbreaks of diseases are already increasing, and everyone is suffering.”

As children scatter successful puddles and float integrative bottles connected nan stagnant pools, nan exhaustion is visible connected her face.