ISLAMABAD: Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman met French Ambassador to Pakistan Nicolas Galey on Tuesday and informed him about the challenges the country was facing in providing assistance to people who had suffered losses due to floods.

Thanking the French ambassador for his country’s support, Ms Rehman said: “We appreciate France’s support in these tough times and would require assistance in the rehabilitation and relief process.”

“The devastation on ground is much more than we have ever encountered even in the 2010 floods. We have not seen a humanitarian disaster of such epic proportions. More than 5,700 kilometre portion of roads and 246 bridges have been severely damaged in the 81 calamity-hit regions, cutting communication lines making relief and rescue a herculean challenge,” she said.

The minister stressed the need to rebuild adaptive and resilient infrastructure.

“The country is now bracing for a health emergency due to water-borne diseases such as cholera and dengue,” she said, adding that health assistance was imperative due to fragility and vulnerability on ground as people were surviving under open skies, waiting for the government’s assistance.

“We need to provide tents and medics on a priority basis. Women’s health crisis is looming in the heart of affected areas with at least 650,000 pregnant women, of whom 73,000 are expected to deliver next month. The flood-affected areas are in dire need of maternal health services,” she said.

Mr Galey expressed solidarity with the people of Pakistan on the devastation caused by floods and assured the minister that full support would be provided by the French government.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2022