By Pervez Saleem
“History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”
“Let us reach out to the children. Let us do whatever we can to support their fight to rise above their pain and suffering.”
“If we nurture the dreams of children, the world will be blessed. If we destroy them, the world is doomed!”
Help Save Children in Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a populous, Muslim-majority country in South Asia. It was brought into being as part of the partition of British India in 1947. Civil war erupted in 1971, with the eastern part of the country seceding to become the independent state of Bangladesh.
Progress in Pakistan has been hindered by continuing political unrest, violence and economic stagnation, and relations with its neighbors India and Afghanistan are often troubled. The country also ranks as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, driven by high exposure to flooding, cyclones and drought.
Recent flooding — the worst flooding to hit Pakistan in decades — has resulted in devastating loss of life. The government has described the situation as a “climate catastrophe … of unimaginable proportions,” affecting more than 33 million people, including 11 million children.
Save the Children is a global leader working in the U.S. and around the world to help children and their communities prevent, prepare for and recover from climate-induced disasters. Your donation today supports this life-saving work. Make a one-time donation to the Children’s Emergency Fund or join Team Tomorrow to connect with the causes you care about – like the climate crisis – through your monthly donation.
Deadly Flooding in Pakistan: 5 Things to Know
1. More than 33 million people across Pakistan have been affected by deadly flash flooding – the worst flooding to hit Pakistan in decades.
2. More than 1,300 people, including nearly 500 children, have lost their lives. A further 12,000 have been injured.
3. The flash flooding from monsoon rains has submerged thousands of homes, washing away towns and villages. Families have lost everything and are in urgent need of shelter, clean water, food, hygiene supplies and medical care.
4. The number of people going hungry has soared by an alarming 45% since floods. More than 8.6 million people now facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity – the majority of them in flood-affected regions.
5. Save the Children is providing emergency relief to families and are running two medical camps in the flood-affected district of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, where teams are providing life-saving medical care to children suffering from flood-related illnesses. As of October 3, we have reached almost 40,000 people, including almost 20,000 children.
Your donation today to the Children’s Emergency Fund helps our teams respond to the most urgent needs of children impacted by disaster.
Challenges for Children in Pakistan
Every child deserves to grow up healthy, educated and safe. Amidst conflict, poverty and high rates of child mortality, malnutrition and illiteracy, Pakistani children need your help to realize the rights and achieve their potential. Tragically, Pakistan is among the top 10 countries with the highest preterm birth rate.
- 1 child in 14 dies before their 5th birthday, 10 times the U.S. rate
- 38% of children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition
- 35% of children are out of school, and 53% of girls (age 15+) struggle to read and write
- 14% of girls (ages 15-19) are married, and 1 in 26 gives birth
- 6 in every 100,000 children is murdered
- 30% of people live in poverty
Our Results for Children in Pakistan
Pakistan has made significant progress in reducing child labor and marriage in recent years, thanks to supporters like you. Together, we reached over 19,000 children in Pakistan last year.
Because of your support, mothers like Sobia – here with her children, Fatima, age 9 months, and Abdullah, age 3 – can get the care they need to ensure their children’s survival, health, education and protection – so they can have the future they deserve.
- 1,000 children healthy and nourished
- 2,000 children educated and empowered
- 9,000 children protected from harm
- 86,000 children lifted from povert
Our Work for Children in Pakistan
Thanks to you, Save the Children first began working in Pakistan through our response program for Afghan refugees in 1979. Today, we are a leading charity for children in Pakistan, providing child rights, development and humanitarian response programs. Our priorities include child health and nutrition, education, protection, and disaster response and preparedness, in addition to gender equality. We work in partnership with government, civil society and local organizations. We advocate for children’s rights.
Here are some recent examples of our work:
A healthy start in life
- We’re building evidence on using a lung ultrasound innovation to identify pneumonia in low-resource settings, with the potential to revolutionize pneumonia diagnosis and save lives
- We’re working closely with government health systems and partners to provide support to public health facilities to improve family planning and care
- We conducted a study to understand the key barriers and enablers to a mother’s ability to practice Kangaroo Mother Care, as well as the feasibility of implementing and improving these practices
- Through our Resourcing Families for Better Nutrition approach, we’re significantly improving the health of mothers and babies through cash transfers, resulting in a 6% reduction in wasting due to malnutrition
The opportunity to learn
- Through our Literacy Boost approach, we’ve proven a 30% improvement in reading with comprehension among Pakistan’s most vulnerable children, including girls and children from poor households
- And through Numeracy Boost, we’ve proven a 25% improvement in core math skills, with the greatest impact for children from the lowest socioeconomic group
Previous emergency responses
- We were there for the people of Pakistan during the unrelenting monsoon floods in 2010, when nearly one-fifth of the country was submerged, providing immediate, lifesaving relief – and staying to help children and families with long-term recovery, rebuilding and revitalization
How to Help Children in Pakistan and Around the World
You can create change that lasts a lifetime for children in Pakistan – in so many ways.
Children have been living in a camp in Khanaqeen for displaced people since last year. The family lived for six months under shelling in their hometown and their childrenâs school was targeted in the conflict. Like many IDPs, Saja and her family had a very difficult journey getting to Khanaqeen. Now in the camp, the children, particularly Saja, attend Save the Childrenâs Child Friendly Space, where they receive the ongoing psychosocial support they need. ** Please note that this camp is for internally displaced people from Iraq and not for refugees from Syria.
Donate
Support Save the Children’s mission. Donate to help children in Pakistan and around the world grow up healthy, educated and safe.
Sponsor a Child
Be the hero in the life of a child. Sponsorship drives lasting change in children’s lives, families and communities
Contact Save the Children
Email:
supportercare@savechildren.org
Phone:
Please call toll-free 1.800.728.3843 (8:00am-5:00pm EST, M-F)
Mail:
U.S. Headquarters
501 Kings Hwy E – Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825
1.203.221.4000
Washington D.C. Office:
899 North Capitol Street, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20002
1.202.794.1500 (8:00am-5:00pm EST, M-F)
Donations:
Checks/money orders should be mailed to: Save the Children, Attn: Gift Processing, 501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825. Make checks payable to: Save the Children. If you wish your gift to be allocated to a particular program, include this information in the memo line.