2024-09-01 10:00:34
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 20 million children are still at risk as floods inundated homes, schools and villages in eastern Bangladesh.
UNICEF Bangladesh informed this information in a press release on Friday (August 30).
In the notification, the organization says that 5.6 million people have been affected by this worst flood to hit the eastern part of Bangladesh in the last 34 years. In addition to food or emergency relief, USD 35 million in aid is needed to provide life-saving equipment for thousands of people and children trapped in water.
It is said that the major rivers in the southeastern part of the country are overflowing due to unprecedented heavy monsoon rains. As a result, more than 52 people have died so far. More than 500,000 people of Chittagong and Sylhet divisions are looking for a little shelter. Houses, roads, fields and agricultural fields have been submerged in the flood water. Millions of children and their families are watertight. They do not have any food or any essential relief items. Rescue operations are being carried out by government officials and volunteers. But, in some areas, aid delivery has become quite difficult. As the monsoon rains continue, more people are expected to be affected in the coming days.
According to the notification, UNICEF started working in the affected areas since the disaster started. UNICEF, along with the advisor of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Hasan Arif, conducted the initial verification. Together with partners, UNICEF has so far reached more than 338,000 people, including 130,000 children. Among these people, they distributed various life-saving materials, such as: 3.6 million water purification tablets, 25,000 jerry-cans for water retention and more than 250,000 bags of oral rehydration salts.
Apart from these, much more needs to be done as mentioned in the press release. It said that disaster-affected people and children urgently need cash assistance, safe drinking water, hygiene kits (hygiene kits), emergency latrines, sanitary pads, oral rehydration salts (oral saline) and emergency life-saving medicines. Primary health care to treat sick newborns and children and essential services to enable pregnant mothers to safely deliver their babies need to be put in place immediately.
Regarding the flood situation, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Bangladesh Emma Brigham said that the floods in the eastern part of Bangladesh highlight the severity of the impact of extreme weather events and climate crisis on children. Many children have lost their loved ones, lost their homes and schools. They are very helpless.
He said that since the beginning, UNICEF has been actively providing emergency services including water purification tablets and oral saline. But more funding is needed to reach all children and prevent the devastating impact of this ongoing crisis on children’s futures.
Brigham also said that the lives of millions of children in Bangladesh are being disrupted by floods, heatwaves and cyclones year after year. Climate change is definitely changing the lives of children. We call on global leaders to act urgently for children before it is too late and take strong action to mitigate the impacts of climate change on their lives.