Pakistan Hunger Appeal
In flood-stricken Pakistan, children are being born into hunger.
Increased frequency and intensity of floods and droughts are causing a growing hunger crisis in Pakistan.
In 2022, Pakistan experienced some of the deadliest floods in the country’s history, with flood waters covering an area three times bigger than Ireland.
Two consecutive droughts preceded the floods, already causing great uncertainty for those dependent on agriculture for food and an income. Then, the floods decimated crops and destroyed villages, leaving families homeless with no food and no way of providing for their children.
Now, 60% of the population is facing food insecurity, and 1 in 5 children is malnourished.
Parents are doing everything they can to protect their children - but they need your support.
This is the worst hunger crisis I’ve witnessed in my two decades working for Concern.
Jamna and Shanti
Jamna and her family were forced to flee the village they called home after losing everything to the catastrophic floods in 2022. “We had standing crops and we saw them drowning,” she said. "We had so many loans on us and we were seeing ourselves drowning with our crops. It was a helpless situation.”
After months of living by the roadside, they now live in a makeshift home built from sticks and bushes, but daily life remains a struggle. The changing climate means work and income are inconsistent for Jamna’s husband. They cannot afford to send their children to school, and worry about their futures.
Jamna’s youngest child, Shanti, was born during the floods. As Jamna had not been eating enough food during her pregnancy, Shanti was born underweight. Six months after her birth, she fell sick with a high fever and diarrhoea, and was admitted to a health centre for severe acute malnutrition. Her parents were sick with worry.
But at an outpatient therapeutic programme site in Sindh supported by Concern Worldwide, Shanti received emergency therapeutic food to fulfil her nutrition needs and get her back to health. Jamna takes Shanti for a check-up twice a month at the centre where her height and weight are monitored, and she said that her daughter's health has improved significantly since receiving treatment.
How your support can help
Your kind donations can provide children like Shanti with emergency therapeutic food, helping them survive malnutrition.
Concern is also providing cash vouchers to help mothers like Jamna to feed their whole families in times of food scarcity.
Climate shocks like floods and droughts are worsening this hunger crisis in Pakistan. Climate smart agriculture can help protect communities from devastation from the next extreme weather event. Concern is providing farmers with training, supplies and tools to ensure that when the next flood or drought comes, crops will have a better chance of surviving and farmers will build resilience against whatever the future holds.
We need your help to support vulnerable families in Pakistan.
