Pakistan Floods: One year on

One year on: Your life-saving support to struggling families 

Over 33 million people were affected by the flooding in Pakistan. Caused as a result of climate change, families lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones. There was significant damage to crops that were wiped out entirely. More than 2 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and over 800,000 livestock perished. 

With your generous support, Islamic Relief was at the forefront of the humanitarian response from the start, delivering life-saving aid including food, water, sanitation and cash vouchers to 1.5 million people. 

Islamic Relief aims to be the first on the ground when disaster strikes, providing emergency relief and helping those affected immediately. Please donate to help ensure we have the means needed to support those in desperate need of help.

A lifeline for Lachmi 

At the height of the floods, Islamic Relief provided thousands of tents to people living out in the open. The tents were robust, high-quality and big enough to accommodate large families and their livestock. We also provided families who have been cut off for weeks or even months from electricity and clean water with solar lanterns and water filters.

“We lived in tents for more than two months and we did not have clean drinking water there,” says Lachmi, driven from her home by the floods in Mirpur Khas, Sindh. “Even after returning home there was no clean water because all the water sources had been contaminated.

Relief, recovery, resilience and research

As a leading humanitarian INGO  recognised in the sector for our distinctive expertise in delivering aid and empowering the communities we serve, our response to climate-related emergencies is extensive.

As well as responding to the disaster and helping to rebuild lives in the aftermath, we aim to help communities build resilience to climate change and conduct research to help address the root causes of climate change. 

We undertook community-based research in the year following the floods in order to get a deeper understanding of the immediate and long-term implications for the communities worst affected. Particular emphasis was placed on under-researched yet critical issues involving marginalised or vulnerable groups such as women and girls, and young people.

The research report sheds light on the devastating long-term impact of the floods. 40% of young children now suffer stunted growth as families struggle to access food and healthcare, and 80% of mothers report sickness among children – with outbreaks of diarrhoea, malaria and dengue fever increasing. Many families previously engaged in agriculture are now dependent on wage labour in towns and cities, leading to growing food insecurity, decreased self-sufficiency, and a loss of valuable skills. Find more information on our latest report here. 

Vulnerable families desperately need your continued support

Marvi was a young mother of two, pregnant with her third child, when the floods reached her district of Dadu in Sindh province. Before the deluge her husband, Bagan, earned a living as a subsistence farmer. As a result of the floods they ended up living in a tent for over five months, with no source of income for the family.

Thankfully Marvi and her family received food, water, a tent and other aid from Islamic Relief at the height of the floods. She subsequently managed to get to hospital when her pregnancy reached full term, giving birth to a baby girl.

But the family’s problems did not end there – as we learned when Islamic Relief staff visited her back in her home village one year on.

“We have been struggling because our home was destroyed,” she told us.

Marvi’s story echoes those of countless families who managed to survive the floods but continue to struggle for survival in the aftermath. Our research has highlighted the particular vulnerability of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers when disaster strikes, and the need to invest in better maternal health care.

“We cannot afford even the basics for our three children,” Marvi said. “If we had some support, our children would get healthy and would not get sick so often.”

Islamic Relief has been by the sides of vulnerable families since flooding began, and we are doing all we can to help rebuild lives and restore hope for families who have endured so much. However, there is still a long way to go, and many families are still in urgent need of your continued  support to help them get back on their feet. Please donate now.